"Mama,! Mama! He said we could have her!" The door slammed behind three overly excited children.
"Who said you could have what, I mean whom?" I couldn't imagine that one of the neighbors was giving away one of their children but stranger things have happened "Mama, the little puppy. You know, Tiki.
"He's giving you that sweet little dog? But why? Won't the mother dog be unhappy? You didn't go and beg for her, did you?"
"No, Mama, her owner, Mr. Johnson, has already left for the war. Mr. Lawson on the corner was keeping her for us until we got back from vacation. He gave the mother to one of his friends. Can you believe he gave us the puppy?
"Can we go to the store and get some food for Tiki? Mr. Lawson told us she hadn't eaten much but she probably would for us. You should have seen her jump on us when she first saw us."
The Viet Nam war brought more changes to America and to our everyday lives than was realized at the time. This seemingly small incident of our family receiving a pet wasn't newsworthy to anyone but our family of six. I'm certain the young college professor was sad to give up two pets. I often wondered how he survived the war or if he did.
This little brown , mixed breed dog (the vet guessed part Manchester and part Chihuahua) brought so much joy and laughter into our home. We asked the vet what he thought made her such an affectionate pet. He thought it was the characteristic of the Manchester breed. All I know is if you didn't like dogs before Tiki, you would very soon after she mesmorized you with those big brown eyes. We moved to a near-by town soon after we acquired her. We heard that the man next door did not like dogs. but it was really strange that every time we planned to give Tiki a bath , she was next door in her chair watching TV with the neighbor! We laughed and said that he didn't consider Tiki a dog!
In 1975 we decided to take another trip to California to finish going to all 48 contiguous states. Of course Tike went along. She was the best traveler of all. She didn't mind the youngest child using her for a pillow as they slept in he back of the Travelall. She was so well behaved that sometimes we forgot she was with us...until she made herself know with a special little growl.
Shortly after we returned form the trip West, Tike was running around the yard until she spied the young girl across the street. She was a cheerleader for the high school football team and was practicing her cheers. Tiki, always curious where people were concerned, headed across the street. She usually stopped and checked for traffic but in her excitement she forgot. The driver saw her too late and Tiki ran into the front tire. Her neck was broken and she died instantly. There was not a mark on her. The driver, a friend from Church was devastated. As we all were. The tears flowed freely for days. Sometime after the driver had gone on his way ,he called to make sure Tiki was actually dead. We were sorry but yes. she was. We buried her in the back yard. Soon she had a little head stone which we took with us when we moved a few years later.
Her name was really Con Tiki . She was the runt of the litter but with a will and tenacity to be a survivor
Her sweet spirit will always remain in our hearts .
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