The story
2/11/08
By Juliana Carter
When Charlie met Ruby, it was love at
first sight. A little girl and her mother stood outside the grocery
store with a large cardboard box. Charlie took a peek in the box.
Inside were three round little balls of gray and white fur and
fluff. Puppies. Charlie's mom and dad reluctantly looked inside and
gave each other a glance that said, "We can't possibly, can
we?"
"Dad, can we have one?" Charlie tentatively asked his
parents.
"Mark, they are adorable." Mom looked at Charlie's dad and gave him
a very long look.
Charlie's family had been dogless for over a year. The family had
lost their super dog, Eli, and hadn't been ready to get another
dog.
Charlie's earliest memories involved their shepherd, Eli. He was
Charlie's best friend and constant companion. Smart and loyal, Eli
was one of the family and went everywhere the family could take a
dog. When the car door opened, Eli would jump inside, ready to go
wherever the family went. It didn't matter where to Eli as long as
he was with his people.
When Charlie's parents brought newborn Charlie home from the
hospital, Eli stayed right by his side. Charlie's mom joked that
Eli wasn't getting any sleep at night. He felt compelled to check
the baby whenever he cried or made the slightest movement, and Eli
had the red eyes to prove it.
When Eli ran, the wind blew through his hair and he hopped and
jumped and looked as if he might fly. Charlie's mom wanted to write
a story and call it "Eli, the Flying Dog."
Mom never did write that story, and one day Eli fell ill. The
family grieved the loss of their beloved friend and knew that some
day they would get another dog, but not just yet. It would be a
long while.
The girl with the box picked out one of the puppies and handed it
to Charlie.
"Would you like to hold her? She's the friendliest," said the
little girl.
"Dad, please?"
Charlie's dad was about to protest, but it was too late. He had
fallen in love with this pup just as Charlie and Mom had.
The family named their little dog Ruby, for no particular reason
other than it just seemed to fit. A trip to the pet store was
quickly made to outfit their new friend -- food, collar, dog bed,
and, most important for a puppy, chew toys. Then off to the vet to
start Ruby's vaccinations.
"This is a very friendly little dog. I think you picked a winner,"
said Dr. Mary. "You can start puppy obedience classes at six months
old."
Ruby and Charlie played, played, and played some more. Charlie
quickly learned to watch out for Ruby's razor-sharp teeth. When
Ruby really wanted to chew, he'd give her one of her toys. She
chewed on everything in sight.
"Charlie, you're going to have to pick up all of your toys," Dad
cautioned. "Anything lying around is fair game, as far as Ruby's
concerned."
Ruby was pretty good about not destroying Charlie's toys, but the
family soon found Ruby's weakness. Socks. Any time a sock was
dropped, it disappeared immediately. When Mom would drop a sock
while carrying an armful of laundry, off it went in Ruby's
mouth.
"Ruby!"
Off she'd go, out the dog door, racing around the yard with the
sock in her mouth. The more she was chased, the faster she'd run
with that sock. This was great fun, and very exasperating for
Charlie and his parents.
After a while, Mom figured out that the socks were pacifiers for
little puppy Ruby.
"That sock is Ruby's binky!" Mom cried one day as if she'd had a
great epiphany. The family decided to give Ruby a sock of her very
own and she carried that sock around with her day and night.
That was when Ruby was a puppy.
Ruby was not a puppy anymore. Ruby was now 80 pounds of sheepdog.
Big, wide, and full of gray-and-white sheepdog hair, Ruby needed to
be brushed and bathed regularly to keep her from becoming a giant
mess.
When Ruby was a year old, Charlie's dad decided it was time to
begin training Ruby to fetch the newspaper. This had been one of
Eli, the super dog's, duties. Every morning, Dad would open the
front door and urge Eli on.
"Get the paper!"
Eli would dash out and quickly return with the newspaper. He was
always very proud of himself and Charlie's dad would give him a pat
on the head and tell him, "Good Dog!" This gave Eli a great sense
of accomplishment.
Dad took Ruby out to the front yard.
"Ruby, this is the paper. Your job is to get the paper."
Dad showed Ruby the paper, then put it in her mouth in an attempt
to demonstrate her new job. Ruby immediately tore off around the
yard with the paper in her mouth.
"Ruby! Come back here!"
Ruby did. The paper was a slobbery mess. Charlie's dad went out
with Ruby every day. Every day the paper returned in pieces or was
so wet with slobber that Charlie's dad soon gave up.
"Well, I guess you're not a paper dog, Ruby. We'll have to figure
out just what your job will be."
While Ruby didn't have a specific job, there were many things she
was good at doing. For instance, she, like Eli, was great at
monster hunting. Charlie's dad would say, "Go get the monsters,
Ruby," and out she'd dash, patrolling the back yard, barking the
whole time. Ruby was an expert in monster abatement.
"How do you know she keeps the monsters away, Dad?" Charlie would
ask.
"Well, have you ever seen a monster in the house?"
Well, no, he hadn't.
It was settled. Ruby's job was to keep away monsters and their ilk.
There would be no disagreeable characters bothering the Williams
household. This was a relief for Charlie.
Raising and training a puppy had been challenging for Charlie's
family, but Ruby had found her place as one of its members.
Charlie's family would sometimes look fondly at their old family
picture that included Eli, the super dog. He was so special.
One day, Charlie's mom slipped in a new family picture that
included Ruby, the Brave. The two family portraits sat side by
side.
Ruby didn't replace Eli; she never could. But Ruby was special in
her own Ruby way. Ruby wasn't as clever as Eli, the super dog, and
she would never have a career as a newspaper retriever, but Ruby
was quite possibly the world's silliest dog and her friendliness
knew no bounds. She never met a stranger; the world was her friend
(except for the poor letter carriers).
Ruby was her own dog, and Charlie's family loved her. Just the way
she was.
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