I had a dog name wholly bun bun. He was shaggy but I loved him. His hair went everywhere. He shed so much, the hair that fell out looked like another smaller dog. Well, maybe not a dog but it did look like urchins, weird hair balls.

I just can’t think of the word. In any case, we had a shepherd and shaggy dog and the shepherd liked to bite people on the butt. It was funny. He never bit me though. He was too smart for that.

We drove home with the dog, but the poor thing wouldn’t eat. We got home and we tried to feed him and he wouldn’t eat. So the shepherd and my mother bathed the dog with this shampoo and they shaved him all over. I remember holding the dog and watching them do this, and I cried. I cried so hard because this dog was mine. I loved him so much and this was so traumatic. They shaved all the dogs hair off and he was all white and he didn’t look happy at all. I kept thinking, “Oh my God. He’s going to die and I’m going to hate myself for pushing my mother to get him.” So they put him in a dog bed and he laid there, lifeless. And I just stared at him. He lay there and he was my dog, and I was so mad that he wasn’t going to make it. He really wasn’t going to make it. I remember the little boy we bought him from said he was a good dog. But I knew he was going to die. He looked so bad. I cried and cried. I was so mad because I thought the dog would die and I knew it was my fault. The next morning I got up and went to the dog, and he was lying there in the bed, and he was still alive. He wasn’t dead. He just stood up when he saw me. I was so happy. I picked him up and hugged him. I was so happy. No one else was up yet so I was alone with my dog and we stayed there and the dog just lay in my arms. I think he was sad from all the hair getting shaved off. I still remember that day. The dog was so cute when he had all that hair. And I loved him so much. I didn’t care that he would shed so much and that he was messy. I loved him. He was mine. But seeing him like that, all white with no hair was a sad reminder of how much I loved him. I just couldn’t fathom that he would die. But he did. And we buried him somewhere in my family’s backyard. I wanted him to have a grave stone, but I don’t remember if he fell up one or not. I sure hope so. He was my friend.