Bozo

When I was nine, I hated all adults. Like many other children my heart love was for animals. In those days animal never broke my heart or treated me meanly. It was a rough time for us kids in those old days. It didn't help that most of our mothers had a kid hanging from her skirt, holding another kid while she made supper, and was 7 months pregnant with the third child. They had to be mean. I would have been mean under those circumstances myself.

I had a small dog named Bozo. He was a Border Collie and weiner dog mix. Long in the body with a foxy face. He had a white stripe down his face and white feet. The rest of him was reddish brown.

Everybody loved him but for some reason I was his and he was mine. He knew how to have fun that one did.

We were going on a fishing trip and my father handed me a glass jar with a lid and told me to go see how many grasshoppers I could catch. Me and Bozo took off and ran out to the hayfield and over to the willows that banked one side of it with a slow creek meandering down its length.

I crouched down and waited. They were all around us. Bozo sat quietly with me but gave me a heads up expectant look. I cupped one hand and BAMM I got a big one. I had to hold it and get the lid of the jar off. It was a bit awkward but I got it done. I dropped in the grasshopper and screwed the lid back on loosely.

Suddenly Bozo jumped high in the sky and came down with his haunches up and his two front feet snapped together. I looked at his paws and a grasshopper was between his two front feet. I lost it. I really poured on the praise. He smiled and went for another. He never once missed.

Everything happened so fast. I do not even know how to explain this but I'm going to have to so here goes. Spirit made him. Earth too. He was so beautiful and so excited after each catch I almost forgot to take the caught grasshopper. Spirit was in him and in that moment I knew I would see him in heaven. I knew it! And I know I will not be wrong on this.

After filling the jar and believe me it was full I took off across the alfalfa at a dead run. We raced laughing and happy. We got to my father and I handed him the jar.

He whistled, "Hey honey you sure caught a lot." So I told him "Not all me Daddy, Bozo did it. Bozo caught almost all of them."

"Bozo did? Well I knew he was a smart little dog." and he patted Bozo on the head.

I told him "Were going to be in heaven together daddy"! My Dad said "Waa...huh? Well I suspect you will honey I have no doubt of that."

I grinned... Bozo grinned. Then we all went fishing.