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Tramp was a mixture of Terrier and Cocker and he came to us early in our marriage. For several years, he would be a child to us as well as grandchild to our parents. Tramp would go everywhere with us -- quick trips to the supermarket and day trips to my parents in a nearby town.
My parents gave him a stocking filled with treats at Christmas and his other "grandmother" would save him the soup bones. He was really quite spoiled. When our children arrived in 1989 and 1991, he became their guardian. He loved to lay in the sun near the cradle swing when they were first born and would come and get us if we didn't respond quick enough when they cried. Tramp was a wonderful companion to me on my days off, as well as a hearty playmate to my husband and children. They loved to play tug-of-war with his blanket, he seemed to love to make them laugh.
I could never take a step without him shadowing me. On one occasion, while putting up our Christmas tree, he decided to lay behind me as I was decorating the tree. I didn't realize he was there so when I turned quickly away from the tree, I fell over him. No one was hurt, luckily, just a little surprised.
In 1997, we decided to add a rescued kitten to our family. At a very early age, Cleokatra (a mix of Burmese and Tabby) decided that Tramp was hers. She would follow him around attacking his tail and stealing his spot of sunlight on the floor -- he would always give it up for her too. On the other hand, Tramp acted as though he couldn't be bothered with her. Little did we know how much that would change.
Being up in years, 14 to be exact, Tramp was beginning to lose things, particularly his hearing. He was becoming deaf. On one particular evening, as we were going to bed, my husband and I called for Tramp to come upstairs to bed. We could see him at the base of the stairs, but he didn't respond.
At that moment, Cleo looked at us and talked, as if to say, "should I get him?" She has never really meowed like a cat -- she speaks more like the Burmese in her. I said, "Go downstairs and get your brother." She promptly ran down the stairs and nudged him all the way back up. That was the first of many occasions where she acted as his "ears."
As the days and months progressed, Tramp lost the sound of the doorbell as well, so Cleo began to race to the door for him. She seemed to know that he could no longer greet the incoming guests as he used to. But she always stepped aside when he got there.
Tramp is gone now and Cleo has taken up his sentry position at the front door. I know she misses him terribly, for days after she would go to the back door waiting for him to come in, or look past us when we came in, to see if she could find him behind us. At night she would wander the rooms, crying, looking for him. He was more than a dog to us -- he was our companion and she was his "ears."
-- Andi P.
HIS EARS
The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
~Andy Rooney
Walt Disney's family dog was named Lady. She was a poodle.
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