Ok, as promised, the story of Precious …………………………

{BTW, Flo, yes, I do feel better – Midrin is a very effective medication – I was just hesitant, since it’s a mild narcotic – Imitrex is a “never-again-in-THIS-lifetime” ;-) }

It was New Year’s Eve, ’86 or ’87 – I was the evening bartender/assistant manager of a veterans’ social club, in Hellertown, PA {near Bethlehem}. “We” put on a great evening, with 80 Proof as the band in the ballroom, with a DJ downstairs, in the room next to the main bar. There was a full course dinner with chicken cordon bleu as the entrée. Of course, being 31 December in SE Pennsylvania, it was cold {upper 20’s-low 30’s during the day}. It had been drizzling all day; by the time the sun had gone down, it had become sleet/freezing rain.

I was circulating, making sure “things” were OK, and that folks weren’t getting too stupid with the drinking {we had the best prices in town – Bud on tap for about $0.50, Johnny Walker Black Label $1.25/shot}. Midnight came, “Happy NEW YEAR” was shouted, and it started winding down. I needed some fresh air, so I stepped out on the loading dock – and this collie walked up to me. She’d been trying to shelter behind some of the ‘stuff’ on the dock. She was shivering, so I brought her inside {before any Health Inspectors get bent out of shape, the food serving was DONE, the clean-up crew would be doing their thing on 2 January, before we opened for business, etc., etc.}. I scrounged some leftover chicken, made sure there were no bones & gave it to her, along with some water. She followed me willingly down to the main bar, where we “worker bees” were decompressing. A friend was to give me a ride home, but she didn’t want the dog in her car – I said OK, I’ll walk {it was less than a half mile home, I had a GREAT down-filled coat}, in stiletto heels, with the dog – my friend decided it wasn’t that far to carry a dog – another friend of ours carried the old girl out to the car, held her on his lap and then carried her to my back door {the walkway was icy}. I put her in the basement, with food & water, left a note for my folks {Happy New Year – by the way, there’s a strange dog in the basement} – and went to bed.

My folks, of course, were up LONG before I was – when I got up, my Dad just kind of grunted, but my Mom’s & daughter’s eyes were SHINING – I’d been calling the old girl “Princess”, but my Mom changed it to “Precious” – and she was ……………………… sweet-natured, let us know when she had to go out, just generally the kind of dog you hope you’re getting when you get one ……………………………. She’d stand in the middle of the kitchen and do a weird sort of howl when she was in a playful mood, with such effort that her forepaws left the floor. She was older & arthritic, but it never affected her disposition. We did the checking with shelters/pounds/vet’s offices, to see if she’d been reported missing …………………………. No responses. SIX MONTHS LATER, we get a call from a student @ Lehigh University – he’d gone home for the holidays, and left Precious on her own …………………………………. Now, bear in mind that the campus was over 4 miles from the club where she wound up – traveling through all kinds of weather, dodging traffic, etc., since at least a few days before Christmas …………………………. He didn’t want her back ……………………….. a couple months later, we had to have her euthanized, as she’d developed a multitude of problems, including respiratory issues. My folks took her in the Cavalier wagon, the vet came out to the car, and administered the drugs right there, to alleviate as much of the anxiety for her as possible – she went peacefully, being petted by people she knew had loved and appreciated her …………………….. and she took a piece of each of our hearts ………………………. And I just hope that she’ll be there with St. Francis of Assissi when my time is done – ‘cause it won’t be Heaven ‘less my critters are there, too ………………………….