A young boy of six years old was given a nickel by
his mother and allowed to walk two blocks to
the local grocery to buy a single dip ice cream cone.
As he was leaving the store he met a small long haired
brown and black puppy. The dog followed him all the way
home and he couldn't understand why. His dad said it was
because he gave him a lick every once in awhile. The little
boy just figured it was because the dog liked him.
Time passed and the puppy grew into a dog the size of a
Saint Bernard with a black tongue like a chow and the small
boy named him Laddie .
The boy and dog became very close and Laddie was the boy's best
friend and protector since he was the smallest in the neighborhood.
When older boys would pick on him Laddie showed them the errors of
their ways. When he was eight years old the boy's daddy tried to spank
him for something he had done and Laddie put an eight inch scar on his
arm that his dad carried to his grave. He was so afraid his daddy would
do something to Laddie but he said no he was glad that he was such a
good protector.
Laddie would not allow other dogs on the property and many times they would
cross over to the other side of the street until they passed
the little boy's house. Is this the meaning "Discretion is the better part of Valor".
He was such a smart dog that he would sit at the traffic light near the house and watch
the light and only crossed when it was red. Of course he was a male dog and followed females
that passed through the neighborhood.
The young boy's daddy worked at a bakery and all the trucks were painted the same color but
Laddie soon learned to tell them apart. Even if Laddie would be off on a romantic adventure
he would catch site of one of the trucks and when the driver returned from inside the store he
would be waiting for a ride back to the bakery.
As the boy grew older he had twenty five young rabbits he was raising to sell. One day his mother
told him it was time to catch the bus for school and he didnt have time to put the rabbits in their
hutch.
When he left the yard he said to Laddie, "Don't let anything happen to my rabbits". When he returned
from school he saw his Dad sitting on the front porch. He told him that Laddie had jumped the fence into
the yard with the rabbits . The little boy just knew he would find all his rabbits slaughtered.
He rounded the house and there was Laddie lying in the grass with all the little rabbits crawling all over him.
The problem was that he was such a great protector of the rabbits that he wouldn't let his Dad in the back yard
to get the lawn mower.
Laddie developed a habit of chasing sea gulls around Mobile, so when the boy went to his grandparents in the summer
he had to leave him behind because he would chase and kill their chickens.
Then one day the boy moved to Mississippi and took the dog with him. Laddie lived to be thirteen or fourteen years old.
No one ever knew for sure just when his birthday was.
However, he will always remain the best friend the little boy ever had.
Yes, the little boy is Charlie and this is another of his stories, and he is
looking forward to the time he will be reunited with his dog Laddie in heaven .
