One Helluva Dog

With all the human carnage and cruelty in the world every day, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit how broken up I’ve been over the recent death of Bear--our family dog.

A Pit bull. Died unexpectedly at age 10. My oldest daughter broke me the news a few days ago. And I’ve been crying off and on ever since.

Could be I’m just getting more sentimental as the years move on–seems I cry over just about anything these days.

And also--I feel so helpless by my inability to stop humans from killing and hating each other that I've probably transferred my sadness to a dog. So I'm really crying for humankind.

Yes, that's all true. But also, you should know…

Man, Bear was just one helluva dog. 

I loved that dog. Can see her now, running to greet whoever came to the door. Tail ferociously wagging.

I used to play a game with my granddaughter. I’d say, “Bear, stop wagging your tail!”

And, of course, she kept wagging it.

Then I’d pretend I was mad at her for wagging her tail. My granddaughter would be cracking up. And all the time, Bear kept wagging her tail. Like she was in on the game.

Everybody, young and old, loved Bear...

I took Bear for a ton of walks. That’s when I learned there are people out there who really love the look of a Pit bull.

They'd stop me on the street to tell me I had a handsome dog.

I’d be beaming, like they were talking about me. Like I really do look like a younger version of Al Pacino.

By chance, the day after Bear died, I did a recording with Jeff Jenkins who is, among many other things, a dog trainer, specializing in rescued Pit bulls. Jeff takes dogs who’ve been trained to fight and kill, and, through love and kindness, turns them into loving dogs you just want to pet and hug.

He takes those dogs to schools across Chicago. Has the dogs do a few tricks. And then lets the kids pet and hug them. Cause there’s just something so peaceful and stress-reducing about hugging a friendly, tail-wagging dog.

Jeff has a theory about dogs and humans. Says they’re better than us. When they’re mean, it’s because humans trained them to be mean. Breeding them to fight and kill for no good reason–just as humans fight and kill for no good reason. 

Bear had a rough start in life. My daughter and her husband got her from a rescue shelter. And in the early days, she had a distrust or fear of humans she didn’t know.

But they treated her with love and compassion. And over time her hostility and fears faded. And she became the kind of dog who’d sit at your feet as you were watching TV or just sitting around the living room talking. Lifting her head every now and then, so you could pet it.

She sat at the feet of so many people that pretty much everyone claims they were Bear’s favorite human. I know I feel that way.

Truth is–Bear had no favorites. She loved us all. Like I said–she was just one helluva dog.