The Story of My Dog, Old Soap

I never did figure out what kind of dog Old Soap was. Best way I could describe him is to say, take every dog you have ever seen or heard of and mix them together, and you would have Soap. He was long legged,shaggy hair, floppy ear and a real dopey looking face. Dad use to say that he was so ugly that he would make a train take a dirt road. He was ugly but he was mine and I loved Old Soap.

I was born and raised in a little town in Georgia. When I was eight or so when I saw a man put a puppy out on the side of the road. Well as anyone knows, to an eight year old that puppy was fair game. I ran and picked that puppy up before the man could change his mind and that pup was mine.Mom wasn't real happy about him but after a lot of begging and making promises that two kids couldn't keep, she said yes. I had me a dog. Yes sir I had me a real dog. He sure was ugly but he was mine. I was going to name him Spot but the second week that I was a dog owner that dumb pup ate part of a bar of soap and the name stuck. It wasn't that he liked soap or baths, course me being eight I wasn't real crazy about them either. But he found the soap and set to chewing

I guess I could tell a lie and say that everything went great as we grew up together. But the truth is me and Soap stayed in more trouble than ten kids could get into. It was really just simple things like sneaking one of Moms pies when she set them out to cool. Well one time we did chase Mr. Hognibotoms milk cow all over the lower pasture. I just wanted to see if I could be a bull rider but we couldn't get her to stand still. I heard later that she didn't give any milk for a month.

Or the time we built a dam across the creek. I built and Soap watched. The creek backed up and flooded Dad's corn field. Believe that didn't go over to well and Dad help me decide that I didn't really want to build another dam. Eating while standing is not the way to go.

But what I really wanted to tell you about Soap was as he grew up he developed a real interest in people. One day the two men running for Mayor of our little town came around trying to get Dad to vote for them, well Old Soap to to one of them real quick, I don't know how much the beef jerky had to do with it. The other one Soap tried to bite. Everyone laughed and told him that a dog wouldn't vote for him. Funny Mr. Tiddle got elected and Soap got more jerky. I guess that is how someone gets elected. Give enough people something and they vote for you. Pretty soon everyone that ran for some office started coming around to see what Old Soap. If Soap liked them, they usually got elected. One day Mr. Tiddle said that Soap should run for office because by now everyone loved Soap. I bet he would have been elected.

I had to leave Soap and go off to college. Six weeks before I was to complete college Dad called and told me to get home in a hurry because Old Soap was real sick. By the time I got home Soap could barely lift his head. I sat in the floor holding his head with tears falling like a little girl. I didn't care because Soap was my dog but mostly my best friend. Soap drew his last breath about daylight the next morning. I knew that I would never be as happy as we once were but I also know that Old Soap is running and playing in Heaven. He was fourteen when he died.

I ask Dad if it would be alright to bury him by the creek where we had spent half our lives playing. Dad went and dug the grave and when I walked out the door with Soap in my arms and tears streaming, there stood half the people from around town. They all stayed for the burial and they were crying too. I guess it is true people can love an ugly dog. A real ugly dog.