The following comments were written on Sunday, September 14, 2014, while I was thinking God made two animals meant to have a special relationship with humans – the horse and dog. History seems to bear this out as these animals have partnered with humans from ancient times to the present day. I knew dogs well since my Dad, Neal Justus, farmed and hunted rabbits and squirrels. He was a fox hunter also and kept a pack of fox hounds, plus a couple of beagles and a shepherd.
As a boy learning to hunt I became attached to a mutt that became a great squirrel dog. The two of us teamed up and often brought squirrels home for the pot. I cried when my dog developed a tumor or something like it and Dad said it had to be put away.
Many years later, after my retirement from an Air Force career, on a rainy day I dug a hole in the edge of a pasture and buried another beloved dog. My tears joined the cold rain falling from the lowering sky. My mind went back to years before when home on leave, our daughter Amy then just learning to walk, Dad obtained for her a brown and white Toy Manchester pup from a friend.
We named her Bitsy, due to her small size. On the way west to Old Fort Des Moines, Iowa, where I then served, Amy and the pup lay on the floor of the back seat in our car and played. Bitsy and Amy grew up together while I was in the service, traveling here and there, until eventually I retired and we came home to Georgia.
Bitsy took over the one acre wooded lot on which our house stands and it became her kingdom. She wore a trail around the fence my wife Florine and an old neighbor built around the lot to keep her in. Her favorite spot in the house was in the right corner of my easy chair, sitting up beside me to watch TV.
Bitsy lived on until Amy finished college and began her business career.
Finally Bitsy grew old and developed a tumor and arthritis. We knew her time was growing short and we would have to end her pain. One rainy evening we went off to church and Bitsy squeezed out of a sagging gate I neglected to fix and tried to follow us. Later, during a cold rain I found her lying in the street below home, having been instantly killed by a speeding vehicle. A neighbor had a large pasture and there after digging her grave, I buried Bitsy with tears mixing with raindrops on my face.
A dog treated right can become a friend, a helper and a blessing. Some dogs become pests due to their being tied up, where they become frustrated and constantly bark, which is another story. This is the story of a little dog that became more than a pet, one that became a companion, a part of our family and our life, and a loyal friend.
