Giving Thanks

Butch was the offspring of a dachshund mother and a traveling dog.  His coat was brindle.  More than one person remarked that he was funny looking and ugly.  What he lacked in attractiveness was offset by his personality.  I wrote the story of the little dog as a children’s book in 1972.  It was originally titled “Butch, the Ugly Dog.”  That title was not politically suitable in 2013.  I changed the title to “Butch The One-of-a-Kind Dog” and collaborated with my oldest granddaughter to illustrate the story.  The picture book was published that year.

Other stories about the little dog were written in blog format.  That blog was the inspiration for Loose Strings From the Past. “Giving Thanks” was posted on the Butch blog in November 2013

                                                                               GIVING THANKS                                                                                                                   2013

Gratitude should be expressed constantly, not just on a special day.  Gratitude not only brings happiness to the one receiving it, but also to the one extending it.

Butch changed from a sad little dog to a happy dog when the children and their friends praised him.

We will gather this week with family and friends to give thanks to God for our many blessings.  Our family has many things to be grateful for.  When we list those things, animals are not on the list.  Perhaps they should be.

First on my personal animal list would be the dairy cows that made a living for our family when I was growing up.  The sale of their milk provided me with the necessities and the comforts of my youth.

I cannot remember a time when I did not have and enjoy pets.  I always had a dog.  There were cats from time to time, and there were two special horses.  The cows also provided the means to make this possible.

On this Thanksgiving Ken and I have two dogs, a cat, and a donkey.  They may not be at the top of our list, but we enjoy and value them.  When our children were small we always had a dog and at times other animals.  We certainly enjoyed Butch and Nanny.  I will be writing about some of the other animals from time to time.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

We have said goodbye to the two dogs and the donkey we had five years ago.  The cat has two new dog companions.  In addition, there is a bull, three cows, and three calves.