Dog is God Spelled Backward.

I found Spanky in New York City when I was there to help judge the DMA Awards, an advertising competition for direct marketing “creative.” After 4 hours of this, I was ready to pull my hair out. So I excused myself and wandered down the hall to the break room. There on the refrigerator was a snapshot of a Corgi surrounded by his toys. The message written on the picture was this: “My name is Spanky and I need a home.”

Who could resist? The picture had an extension number on it. So, I made contact with a woman who worked in the building. “We got Spanky for my grandmother,” she said, “but he was 6 months old, and she’s 72.” The energy levels were definitely at odds. The two lived in the Bronx, and so I drove there with a friend. Spanky met me on the front steps, and it was love at first sight. I asked, “How much would you like for him?” The woman said, “I don’t want money; I just want him to have a good home.”

Done. I called my husband (also a dog lover), and he said “Get him his ticket.”

Dog Love

2018 data shows that nearly 40% of U.S. households have dogs, for a total of nearly 77 million dogs in America alone. Since the COVID epidemic that number has gone up to nearly 50%. And 9 out of 10 owners consider them “part of the family.” Just a few stats to prove how much people love dogs

Spanky and the Girlies

We had adopted our daughter in China, and she was about 9 when Spanky came into our lives. She thought his squatty feet and big, pointy ears were comic looking, but it took no time at all for him to win her over.

Anna was a competitive figure skater from the age of 6, and had a posse of skater friends. They’d come to the house after practice, and play with make-up. The minute “the girlies,” as we called them, came in the door, Spanky’s whole body began to wag. He’d race upstairs with them and, behind closed doors, they’d work their magic. Spanky would always emerge covered in sequins, wearing a feather boa, and sometimes with painted toenails. He waited every afternoon at the front door for the girlies to show up.

My husband, Den, said “Spanky needs a theme song.” I asked him, “What are you thinking?” “There’s only one,” he said, ‘“Girls” by The Beastie Boys. The lyrics are silly; all rhymes that are just there to play off the bouncy music.

“Girls

All I really want is girls

And in the morning it’s girls.

‘Cause in the evening it’s girls.

I like the way that they walk.

And it’s chill to hear them talk.

And I can always make them smile.

From White Castle to the Nile!”

When my husband found it and played it for me, it was Spanky through and through.

The Ambassador

Spanky had a unique talent for winning over the non-dog types. He seemed to have a nose for them and made it his business to get in their space. One New Year’s Eve, we decided to have some friends over for a game night. This consisted of setting up poker tables and playing for match sticks.

My friend Mary, had a lawyer husband who seemed to have a serious dislike for canines. I asked him once, “What’s up with you and dogs, Jim? Did you have a childhood dog trauma?” Apparently, he had had no personal encounters with dogs. “But,” he said, “I’ve had clients who’ve been attacked by dogs. I just don’t want them around me.”

I swear, Spanky knew instinctively that this guy needed a tune up, and Spanky was up to the task. Jim took a seat at the head of our dining room table; no doubt figuring that choosing a spot away from me would ensure his safety. Not so. At first, Spanky sat just below Jim and looked up at his quarry. I could tell Jim was a bit put off by this but went on with his game. Over the next hour, Spanky moved closer and closer to Jim’s feet...eventually sitting right on top of the man’s Nike’s. And there he stayed, content with his new friend for the rest of the evening. Needless to say, we haven’t seen much of Jim in our home since. But I did get a picture, and Mary hung it over their kitchen table. Spanky was not going to be denied.

End of the Road

When you have a beloved dog in your life, you think the love will last a lifetime. But Spanky’s lifetime was winding down around the age of 12. He got thinner and thinner, even though he was eating normally. The vet said, “His kidneys are failing, and there’s nothing we can do. When you’re getting close to the end, bring him in.”

The last day came when Spanky’s legs refused to work and he could barely hold himself up on his front paws. I took him over to the vet who gave him something to calm his nerves while my family and I said our goodbyes. We just watched him go to sleep. I found a blog written by Dr. Joseph Pierre, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California. The title is “Die Like a Dog.” I believe it sums up what I felt at that moment, “Pet dogs often have a peaceful death that forestalls protracted suffering and pain. Why can’t we do the same for humans?”

God calling

I had a best childhood friend who died in her 40’s of melanoma. I flew out to Philadelphia to say goodbye on her last day. I remember sitting on the floor of my bathroom, angry at God. I demanded to know my friend would be someplace happy once she was gone. I said, “I don’t care how you get me the message, but I demand to know she’s okay.” It happened. The message came through something unexpected her daughter referenced about Joycie’s and my childhood. I didn’t think her daughter knew about that time in our lives. When she said it, I felt a thump in my chest.

So on Spanky’s last day, I wondered ‘would it be asking too much for the same thing?’ Nothing happened, and I moved on. About four days later, I was driving my daughter to her figure skating practice. I turned on the radio, and out of the speaker in full volume came The Beastie Boys, singing “Girls…all I really want is girls…”

I felt a huge grin start in my gut and spread throughout my body. Anna let out a cry…”That’s Spanky’s song,” she said with a sweet mix of tears and a happy grin. “Thank you,” I thought.

But it didn’t stop there. The next day, I got a text from my designer friend, Michael. The text read, “Wasn't' Spanky a Corgi?” He took a photo of a cloud formation. It was a dog flying across the sky; big stubby feet stretched out in front of him; pointy Corgi ears alert to the heavens, long tail feathers flying out behind him, just like Spanky’s. My heart filled up. My boy was sailing across the sky…one very happy Corgi.

I happen to think that the fact that dog is God spelled backwards is intentional. People love dogs for a million very good reasons.

Here are just some of the miracles dogs perform for humans:

Therapy dogs guide the blind, assist the disabled, help the hearing impaired, predict an oncoming seizure, and visit nursing homes - without complaint.

Police dogs sniff out drugs, find missing people, chase down bad guys, and protect their handlers.

Military dogs detect bombs and other types of imminent threats. They are sentries, scouts, rescue workers, and stress relievers. When paired with a PTSD sufferer, they often prevent suidide.

Detection dogs also sniff out illegal substances, but most revelatory, is their ability to identify cancers and abnormal blood sugar levels.

I’d like to think I’ll meet up with Spank again one day. And that he’ll look like he did the day I met him…