I am not a dog person. I can count the amount of dogs I like on one hand. I have even passed that trait down to my son. He doesn't like dogs either and that matter was made worse when he was bit by a dog a few weeks ago.
But there was a dog that I did like. My friend and neighbor Damond had a full-bred Cocker Spaniel named Princeton. Everyone called him Prince and he was one of the good dogs. Like I said before, I am not a huge fan of dogs. In fact I remember being stranded on their trampoline with his sister Denise while this large black dog was wandering around. That black dog looked totally scary!
But anyway, I liked Prince. He was a pretty dog and I would often walk the dog with Damond. One night Damond, Denise and I walked over to visit our friends (the Yates family) and we spent the remainder of the evening with them. They were such a fun family, we danced and laughed and sang "Lean On Me" to the top of our lungs. We had tied Prince to the tree in their yard and played inside. It was getting pretty late (around eleven or midnight) so we decided to come home. Well, that Prince dog was pretty smart. I went to untie him from the tree and he snipped at my hand when I tried to get his leash on him. Since I am a chicken when it comes to dogs, I instinctively pulled my hand back. And off Prince went!
I quickly told Damond I was sorry. Prince was a dog that liked his freedom and would not come back when you called. In fact, he was already gone out of sight. I felt guilty and Damond was no help. He kept saying things like "I hope Prince doesn't get run over" and stuff like that. I am sure Damond meant no harm with those comments but they made me feel even worse. I walked them home and said good night and walked back to my house feeling absolutely horrible. So I thought to myself that I need to go get Prince myself!
I walked back to the Yates house and sat on their porch hoping to catch a glimpse of Prince. Prince was still hanging around but would not come when I called him. Finally after an hour he finally came over and let me pet him. It was then that I discovered that I have no way of getting him back. The leash was back at Damond's house. I thought about putting my hand under his collar but Prince sensed it and took off before I had a chance. I looked around the yard and found some rope. I thought if I could get Prince to come over again, I might be able to slip this rope under his collar. After another thirty minutes or so, Prince finally came back. He would not let me near his collar so I had to hug him and let him lick my face. Ugh. While he was doing this I managed to get the rope under his leash and I caught him!
I walked Prince home and knocked quietly on Damond's door. But it was very late and I am sure he was dead asleep. I didn't want to wake up his dad either. I went to their backyard and barked like a dog, hoping Damond would wake up and see Prince. But nothing. Another twenty minutes went by and I got the idea of throwing dog food at his second story window. Finally Damond came downstairs and looked out the window. Damond was relived that I was not some guy wanting to kill him and we laughed about me hunting down Prince. Damond was extremely thankful that I spent so much time hunting his dog down.
Sadly, I learned after I returned home from my LDS mission from New York, Prince had been put to sleep. I heard it was because no one was around to take care of him. That really bugged me. Prince was one of the good dogs and now he was gone. Still bugs me to this day.
