By Sol Polish
Every now and then, I read about a man abusing his dog. The item in the newspaper upsets me. I found that I have a special feeling about animals of all kinds. Lil and I, arriving home from a day at the Fort Hamilton Officers Club swimming pool, found the dog that became our beloved pet. The dog, a cross between a husky and a shepherd, was being fed by kids on the block. Lil, after one look at this stray, decided to adopt her. We live in a six-story building on East 53rd Street in Flatlands and pass through a long lobby to reach the elevator. When Lil called to the dog to follow her, the dog responded immediately. She wore no collar and we had no reason to search for a former owner. Lil was so smitten by this pretty animal who was so docile, that she named the dog Angel. Angel followed us into the building and made herself right at home in the apartment. For us it was love at first sight, with Angel seeming to feel the same attraction. I began to feel about Angel, the same way I felt about my mount in the horse cavalry. The horse that was assigned to me at first was like a bucking bronco when I mounted her. Texas, my horse, had been without a rider for a long spell while recovering from a problem in the remount stable. The horse at first rejected having a rider on his back, but after a few days, with my bribing him with apples, Texas let me mount with no problem. Slowly a relationship between the horse and me grew into a feeling of fondness I felt for the animal. The same feeling of closeness started between Angel and both Lil and myself. Lil has a way with creatures that surprised me. She trained our pet parakeet to speak and fly around the apartment at will. With Angel she started a routine at feeding time with Angel responding to several questions Lil asked. Angel loved to eat the cookie she got after each meal. Lil would ask, “Do you want a cookie?” and Angel replied with a woof. Lil then asked Angel if she wanted more cookies and Angel would respond with a series of woofs. Then Lil asked Angel how old she was and Angel would bark her age with an additional woof, as she grew older. How the dog could keep track of how many times to bark is a mystery we never solved. I taught the dog several commands that she memorized and responded to. When I walked her while still dark outdoors and someone was approaching, I said to Angel, “Who’s there?” and Angel barked at the stranger. There are so many great things about this former stray dog that it would take a book to adequately describe how we felt about this dog that impacted so much on our daily lives. It was heartbreaking when after ten years, Angel developed a terminal case of cancer. After two surgeries, Angel passed away, leaving a void in our lives. Getting another dog is not an option for us. Due to health problems, neither of us would be able to walk a dog again. With some great memories of pets of the past, we now rely on television as a companion.
