As a child growing up, I always had Labrador Retrievers as pets, and one of my chores was picking up after the dog. When I became an adult, I swore never to get another dog to avoid picking up poo. My kids grew up with cats a lot easier to pick-up after.
Several weeks ago I went to visit my father when his 15-year old Labrador retriever named “Oliver” died, When I arrived, he had already purchased a puppy, and immediately I knew something was wrong.
The cute little puppy was a black and brown Miniature Pincher and not the usual black Labrador Retriever puppy he has purchased for all of my 57 years of life.
I have never known my father to have any other type of dog, and if my mother were alive, I would ask her. Dad was visibly distraught with the loss of Oliver, so I did not want to agitate him with questions. He named he puppy Trixie, and they were happy.
When I drove home I was worried about my father’s puppy purchase, and I thought at age 89 his eye sight may be getting worse, so I made arraignments for him to visit the eye doctor.
I accompanied him on the visit and when my father asked why he received a request to have his eyes checked. The doctor told him I, his eldest son asked for the appointment.
My dad turns to me to ask, “why?”
I told him the truth of how I thought his eye sight was failing when he picked a miniature Pincher instead of a Labrador retriever.
My dad stared at me and said.
“I’ve grown tired of picking up large piles of crap in the backyard from those Labs. Trixie’s poo is smaller and less of it.”
My dad turns to the eye doctor telling him, “check my son’s eyes because he could not see his father was getting too old to be picking up significant amounts of poo.”
I hung my head in embarrassment as we walked from the eye doctors office.
A couple of days later I bought my Dad a Labrador Retriever puppy. Now I have a penchant for picking up poo for two dogs.
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