Grandma Edna and Too Many Dogs

 Grandma Edna and Too Many Dogs

Dana Koogler 

Saturday Sept. 26, 2020

   I am going to share this crazy story here.  It is true and happened twenty-seven years ago.   It will probably end up offending some people. I'm sure I'll have a few people who raise hell about it.  I don't care.   Life can be difficult and messy.  We can either learn to laugh at ourselves and the dumb stuff that happens or lose our minds.   Take your pick.  

         Back when my now thirty year old son was three.... I put his six year old sister on the bus and was back to my house to start my day's chores.   We lived way back in the boondocks of Virginia.  It was thirty five miles or so to my grandparents house.  I got a phone call from my grandmother who was very upset.   My mom had gone to work as an over the road trucker and Grandma was feeding her dogs for her.   

     Now I have to back up and set the stage a little.  My mom lived next door to my grandparents.   She was remodeling my great grandparents house. She was finally recovered from what was supposed to have been terminal cancer.  She was fit as a fiddle, but had spent a year or so recuperating from surgery and treatment.  During that time a dog showed up at her house.  It was a cute female border collie type dog.   She named her Radar.  Mom didn't really have the money to take care of pets right then, but she was able to keep the dog fed. She did not get her spayed.  The dog got pregnant and had a litter of the cutest puppies.  They all found homes easily.  It was no time til the dog dropped a second litter of pups. 

   Mom had gone to work truck driving.  She was planning on getting the money and getting her spayed.   Meanwhile my grandmother was left to feed the dog through the week and cope with the fall out from the doings of those dogs.    The pups were getting big and between the mom and six pups they had the run of the neighborhood.  They were getting in the neighbors trash.  They were chasing cows. They were into every sort of mischief.  Poor Grandma was taking the brunt of it.    The folks around were angry and felt she should do something about it.  They were not even her dogs.  They had NO pets of their own at the time.   

    She called me upset and at the verge of tears.  I told her to hang on I'd come help her deal with it.   I loaded up my son and went down the road to Barren Ridge.    I got down to her house and at first thought I'd put my uncles dog crate in my car and put all the pups and the mom in there.   I'd take them to the SPCA which was five miles up the road.  The crate did not fit in my car. 

I tried numerous things to accommodate the dogs in my vehicle.  None of them worked. Finally I loaded my grandma and my son in the car. I pulled up to mom's house.

  Once up at mom's I opened the car doors and put four puppies in the back with my son.  I still had two dogs to go.  Jared was already getting upset with four dogs. I dared not put three more.  I tried to get the mother, but she ran away. Far away.   I captured the final two pups.  I had run out of options.  I put them in the trunk of my car.  It was only five miles up the road on the interstate.   It was not hot.  This would have to do.   

      I got up to the SPCA in Fishersville and went inside while Grandma and Jared stayed in the car.  I told them the story about these were not my dogs. They were my mom's dogs.  I told them what had happened.  They agreed to take them, but said "You can't surrender dogs that are not yours. She will have to do it."  I am sure my eyes were big as saucers when the woman said that.  I kept my composure and replied "No worries. She's in the car with my son. I'll go get her."   I went out and explained to Grandma that she was Earline and had to go sign papers so we could surrender the dogs.  She agreed to do this.   She went in and got started on the paperwork.  Meanwhile me and another lady began bringing dogs in.   I'm tending to a three year old boy. I'm hauling puppies with this lady.   I knew we'd best get the ones out of the trunk first.     I opened the trunk of the car and the lady gasped.  "It is not legal to transport dogs like this."  I shook my head and said "I know.  Mom is not always the most responsible person.  She's an old lady, you know? What can you do? I tell her these things, but she won't listen. She wouldn't get her dog spaded or anything."   

   On our several trips in and out hauling dogs.......... I can hear my poor grandmother is being preached a sermon by the lady behind the counter. She is being put on a list of people who cannot adopt dogs anymore.   She is getting read the riot act.   I was quite impressed at her restraint knowing her temper as I did.   

       At last we got all the dogs dropped off. We all trudged back to the car and got in.  I buckled Jared into his car seat.   I got in and sat down and started back toward Grandma's house.  She was silent for awhile, but grimacing. 

Finally .. without turning around to look at me she simply said "I'm gonna kill you!" through gritted teeth.   

       I laughed so hard I thought I'd pop.   I told her simply "You wanted something done about the dogs. I did something about the dogs. "  

      She was awhile letting that one go.