The Love of a Dog Teaser

A Chronicle of a Remarkable Retriever

The decision to get a dog becomes a journey from high expectations
through the reality of care giving and the fun of companionship to enduring
love and finally loss. Dog lovers will see themselves and remember their
beloved canine friends. They will wish they had known Tasha as they read about
this quirky dog and her love of family and fun. Readers can applaud the
transforming power of love.

Typically, I put mulch down in the spring, but I also use mulch to prepare for winter. However, not all mulch is equal when it comes to dogs.

I am the queen of mulch. I used it abundantly to discourage weeds and hold moisture in the soil, and to protect roots during winter. I had a preference for cocoa bean mulch, which had a delectable aroma. A neighbor at our previous home came out one day while I was spreading it and said, “Oh, I thought you were baking brownies.” That’s how good it smells!

I had been thoughtless. The cocoa bean is just as toxic for dogs as chocolate. Mulch covered the flower beds in the backyard where Tasha played. “Tasha,” I lectured, “you are not to touch this mulch under any circumstance. Never, never, never touch the mulch.”

 I’m not sure how she interpreted “mulch,” but not only did she never touch the mulch, she never put a paw in any flower bed or touch even a petunia or marigold. She kept me company when I worked in the yard, and much later, I found it difficult to garden without my furry assistant.

Jo McCauley Prouty spent her formative years in West Virginia and
Virginia, where she attended the College of William and Mary. She is a former
educator and now applies her nurturing skills to flower gardening and
entertaining her grandchildren. She resides in Minnesota with her orange
tabby, Cooper. Her work has appeared in “The Journal of The Braxton Historical
Society” and the “Journal of Opinions, Ideas and Essays.”