Dogs of My Life- Butchy Boy II

 



This is the second installment in Dogs of my Life. Meet Butchy Boy II. While Butchy Boy I began as my parents' dog and ended up as mine, Butchy Boy II started out belonging to me, but essentially ended up being my parents', as I went away to college.

After first Butchy died, I wouldn't even think about another dog for months, but by winter I was more than ready for another canine friend. But I was a child who did not like change in any form. The "new" dog had to be black and white, male, and was going to be named Butchy Boy. A girl in my class said that they had puppies, but she lived w-a-a-a-a-y out in the country. She rode Bus #12 to school... Bus #12 was often late to arrive. If the weather was bad, Bus #12 was dismissed early. Sometimes, Bus #12 students never even made it to school. My mom was not thrilled to be attempting to locate the Cooper's house in the snow, but we finally made it, and I chose one small black and white puppy. We seem to have no pictures, however, until he was grown.


Second Butchy was reputed to be 3/4 English Setter and 1/4 Beagle. We can guarantee that he was pure Mutt. I don't recall that I was involved a lot with seriously training him. I think that Dad just was so used to that role, that he did most of the work, although I helped and "played" at dog training.

The beagle part of Butchy's genetic makeup was strong, and Dad would always comment with mild disgust that he was just pure hound. He was definitely headstrong and not anything like first Butchy. This dog was fun to play with, but he would run away if he was allowed to run loose. He could easily break dog chains, so Dad found a cow chain in the barn. When Butchy was inside he was a good family dog. When he was outside, he had to be chained, and was equally comfortable in his dog house under the porch, insulated with hay.


Here's my favorite picture of this dog. He looks quite peaceful. However, he was high energy, and really needed more exercise than even I could give him. Throughout high school I got up early before school, most days, and took him for a run the length of our farm and back. One morning, Butchy chased a woodchuck down its hole. I let him go digging for it, and discovered that it wasn't a woodchuck that had ducked underground! Butchy caught the spray right in the face, and I was close enough that I had to go to school with some pretty unpleasant perfume. Yes, it was a skunk!



When I went off to college, of course, I had to leave Butchy at home. He was lonesome, and would break his chain fairly regularly. Mom and Dad usually found him two miles away at the school, playing with the kids. Of course, that involved crossing roads, and on one of those adventures, he connected with a car. Mom found him, and brought him back to the farm to bury.

As we continue this series, you will probably be appalled at the number of my pets whose lives were ended by cars. Buck up, and get prepared for it. I've always lived on major highways, and dogs just seem to carry their knowledge of the dangers of the road only so far. They will stay off the blacktop until they smell or see something attractive on the other side.

Anyway, second Butchy was a good transition dog for me. I learned how to train a dog. I learned that not all dogs were going to be as special as first Butchy. It was verified that I am very much a dog person.

I'll leave you with a quirk that should give you a chuckle. Whenever Dad was digging potatoes from the garden, second Butchy would bark and bark (he was chained on that side of the house), until Dad would throw him a raw potato to eat.

See Dogs of My Life - Butchy Boy I