Springtime Puppy in the Snow

My name's Diesel and I was born on October 12th, last Fall. I mostly remember being part of a large group of my NINE brothers and sisters. My Dad was a Jack Russell Terrier who escaped from a local breeder in Cedarville, Upper Michigan, but I've never met him. My dog-mom was huge, by comparison. She was a lab mix and kind of a grumpy lady. Maybe having so many pups would make anyone grumpy, but she quit feeding us when we were about 4 weeks old. Lots of people looked at us, but I remember The Boy, Vince. His mom liked one of my brothers who had two perfectly matching brown patches on his eyes and ears. Me? I only have a lopsided patch on one side, and what looks like a tear drop off the other side. There's a big spot of brown by my tail, too; otherwise, I'm all white.

Early Life So The Boy spent about an hour looking at pups while the adults got impatient. He picked up all of my brothers and most of my sisters, but kept coming back to me. The Lady held me for awhile, and kept pointing out my brother who had the matched markings. The Boy kept looking at my muzzle, and she finally said, "It's your dog, Vince. Pick the one YOU want." They told The Boss they wanted me and left. That was when I was only 2 weeks old, my eyes barely open. They got called back just before I was 5 weeks, because dog-mom quit feeding us, and ran away. The Boss and his family were tired of so many of us running all around. I was the first to leave and it was SCARY! The Boy wasn't quite sure of me, and spent another hour checking us all over. I wasn't even sure I wanted to go. They both seemed sad because their old dog had died a month earlier. The Boy still seemed to like me best and off we went with my Little Sister and A Girl riding in the big green van to our home in St Ignace. The Boy had a Dad who was big and scary, but turned out to be my friend, too. The New Family cuddled me and The Lady gave me some milk and puppy chow to eat. They brought out a big Blue Bed, a large storage box with soft towels. I slept there during the day, when I was tired.

There was another thing in my new house, and it turned out to be a different sister, a cat. She seemed frightened of me at first, but stood her ground. She wagged her tail and smelled, so I tried to smell her. One day I got too close and WHAM! She slapped me with her big front paw and I yelped. The Lady scooped me up and looked at my nose, but I was okay. I found out the cat meant business, but never meant to hurt me badly. Actually, she is a lot of fun and we play. If I get too rambunctious, she gives me a poke with one of her claws. Usually, she just holds her arm up and I run around the kitchen table like a lunatic. Sometimes, she'll chase me. She didn't like The Dog Who Died, because he was too big. She knows she can boss me around, so we are "friends." Sometimes, she even sleeps by me.

The Winter Winter came and it was all white and cold outside, but warm in the house. It was lonesome with all my brothers and sisters gone, but The Boy cuddled and played with me. The Lady always had something good to eat and The Man was warm and big. It was cold outside, but I learned I was supposed to do "business" out there. They made such a big deal out of that, so I worked really hard. The Boy worked on his schoolwork, but The Lady stayed upstairs with me at night to sleep. She said she couldn't stand thinking of me crying for my family. They have a big green recliner and I slept on her chest. It wasn't the same as my brothers and sisters, but she was warm and soft. She always made sure I had something to eat. I grew so fast that my Blue Box Bed was too small.

The Snow covered the brown grass, but Thanksgiving and Christmas were fun. The Lady baked a big bird and even let me have my first soft meat. I ate until my stomach pushed out and slept through the entire night! On Christmas, they had a free turkey and we feasted again. I made a few mistakes by doing "business" on the rug in the back, but learned my lesson when they threw the rug out! It was snowy and the lady pushed the snow away so I could walk and run. I got bigger and followed her out into the woods. She made trails and helped me climb over branches and lumps in the snow. The Boy had friends who came over to play. I had so much fun rolling around the bed with the big boys. After a few weeks, they finally named me Diesel.

Sometimes The Boy and The Lady went off to look at Colleges. The boy has to do more school Away, and it scares me a bit. But The Man was jolly and always takes good care of me. He spends most his time in the kitchen and on the computer, but always saved me the last bite of his Bagel. He doesn't take me for walks, but we go to the store and his Native American friend Gilbert comes over and throws The Stick. The Boy and The Lady are always so glad to come home and bring weird food from Away in boxes. Sometimes I get a taste, but if they forget, I usually dig it out of the garbage, anyhow. The Boy likes apples and one of the first new foods I ate was apple. I could smell and hear them crunching. I didn't know dogs aren't supposed to like apples, but I love them.

Play Time Because it was cold and snowy outside, we played in the house, too. My puppy teeth itched and I like to chew things. I was a Bad Dog because I chewed up The Boy's favorite pair of shoes. They were black and white Vans, but then I had them all the time. I slept with them, because they smell like The Boy. He misses his old dog, Comet. The Lady takes me to visit Comet's grave every day on our walks in the woods. She still cries and talks to Comet, so I run in the clearing farther away. The First Dog Dickey is in an older grave. He was almost 15 years old and came from Italy. A balsam pine started growing and Dickey seems to like me better. I don't think Comet would like me, he would be jealous.

The Boy went away with his friends and brought The Matt home from Washington in the Middle of Winter. I guess they give boys away too, and now I have both of them. They had a bad trip and someone rammed into their car while it was parked and fled the scene. I just know I was glad to have The Boy home. I hope The Matt likes me, I think he misses his old dogs. Matt smokes and has funny feet. For some reason, I always pick out his socks and shred them. He thinks I'm cute, but he gets mad at me for the socks. Then I shred more of them.

Learning Besides learning to do "business" outside, I learned to sit when I was only about 6 weeks old. The Boy is a good teacher, and he also showed me how to shake hands. Because I was so little, they were very happy I learned how to sit and shake and lay down. It took me a long, long time to learn to bark though. My body wanted to bark, but I only let out a huff huff noise. It made them all laugh. One day The Man's friend came and I really barked. They said I sounded like a Basset Hound, whatever that is. I don't bark very often though.

Before barking, I learned to get my hackles up. I was only a few months old and out in the woods when I smelled Another. The hair on my butt spot stood straight up, and more hair along my back and up to my neck prickled. The Lady told me later it was a coyote. She saw him circling around the yard early one morning. She is very worried about me, and never lets me out alone. We take a long walk every morning, and another one every night. If I don't take my walks, I end up chewing The Matt's socks or The Boy's shoes and get in trouble.

SPRING Now it is Spring Time and the snow is melting away. The grass that was brown is now turning green. We live way Up North in the Big Woods near the Hiawatha National Forest. It is all empty woods around our cabin. One day, The Lady put me in the car and took me Across The Road. She had a new leash and collar from the Vet's Office, when I get my shots and had to "Get Neutered." My Vet went to the same college as The Lady, Michigan State University. It is Green and they have the best Vets. The Vet is nice, but I do not like shots and I don't ever want to "Get Neutered" again!

Anyhow, we walked down the trail through an old campground. I could hear water rushing, and the new Spring Grass smells wonderful. The Lady let me off the leash and I could run along the beach. The Lady told me this is Lake Huron. I ran, and ran, and ran. We go to the beach every day. Sometimes there are eagles there. One day Ducks, The Heron, and The Cranes showed up. I am not allowed to chase the water birds. The ducks are smaller, like me, but The Heron is huge. He is silent except for the crackles he makes. As long as we stay back, he just watches us, or continues to eat. I can smell his food, little minnows and tiny fish. I smell frogs, but haven't seen him catch one of those. I found a turtle family, but they swim away. I can't swim in the ponds because they smell, although sometimes I sneak in. Then we have to go to Lake Huron and wash off.

The Lady tells me that Comet loved to swim and enjoyed his walks until he got too old. He had a heart attack when he was only 10 years old, and everyone was so sad. This Spring, they seem happier and I make them laugh when I race around and chase sticks and chew my toys. I work hard to make them laugh and keep happy. I still get in trouble because I don't always come when I'm called. I have a leash for the front yard, so I don't go out and bother the customers in their store. Sometimes, they bring me out to meet the customers. I love the children best. Soon, they will be out of school and come more often.

I love the Spring. It's the best time of year for being a Puppy!

This story was told by Diesel to the Lady and translated for the public

All photos were taken by the author both in and around Fort Algonquin and are free for public use

Please visit Diesel at Fort Algonquin in Upper Michigan during the spring, summer, and fall