Corky the Wander Dog

Corky the Wonder Dog A New Family Member Corky was a mutt. Actually, he was part Golden Retriever and Labrador and a few other things. But really he was just a funny crazy lovable dog who had no family loyalty. He would walk off with anyone, from postmen, to pretty ladies, to punk teens, to little children. He wasn’t selective. He loved everyone and everyone loved him. He had the confidence to know that regardless of who he followed or wherever he went, we would eventually find him and bring him home. Mom and Dad first found him at the pet store. They couldn’t miss him. He was the big goofy dog with one ear up and one ear down, a big pink tongue, a happy face and a friendly bark saying “come on let’s go home”! We four kids excitedly waited for our new family member. In the door bounded “Corky”. He was SO needy. He licked each of us on our faces, our arms, and our legs. When one of us would sit in a chair he would nudge his head under our hand as if to say ”Come on pet me I need some lovin”. Mom had recently eaten ribs at Corky’s Barbeque. She liked the name and “Corky” was born! He instantly became a member of the family. He really didn’t give us a choice. He sat under the kitchen table when we ate, by our beds at night when we slept, and in the middle of the den when we were playing or watching television. He was everywhere we were. A Yard of His Own Corky started to get a little “too comfortable” in our small house for Mom and Dad. Within a few days they began to put him out for exercise in our fenced backyard. He would roam around, chase squirrels, sleep on the thick green grass in the warm sun, dig holes to nowhere and eat. In fact, he ate A LOT! He ate leftovers from meals; lunches we didn’t like; regular dog food and when he was desperate, he would tip over a trash barrel and rummage through garbage. He was our own personal “goat dog”. We couldn’t figure out why he never got sick. Dad said he had “an iron stomach”, whatever that was. The Wanderer The fence included a wooden gate with a latch that led to the driveway. One afternoon while we were at school and Mom and Dad were at work, Corky started pushing at the gate. He then brought his pointed snout up under the metal latch. After several attempts to push it up, the gate opened. He was FREE to WONDER and WANDER the neighborhood. Thus began the adventures of Corky the “Wander Dog”! A few days after we had him Corky met his first admirer. He was trotted down our quiet street periodically stopping to sniff the smells of other dogs, flowers, grass, and people. It was very exciting to him. He came across a pretty young woman moving into her new apartment. Stopping to sniff her suitcase she gave him a pat and asked him where he lived. He responded by giving her a big smile and she invited him in to her kitchen. She gave him food and water. The hours went by and he made no attempt to leave. No one came looking for him so she let him sleep the night at the foot of her bed. The next morning she was outside her apartment unloading more boxes from her car. All of us were out walking the neighborhood looking for him. Mom was talking to the pretty young woman when Sparky nudged his way out of the houses’ side screen door and with his twinkling brown eyes and happy grin, bounded out to meet Mom on the sidewalk. She hugged him around the neck and thanked the woman for taking care of him. One morning Mom was home alone when the telephone rang. It was the manager of the local drugstore calling to let her know that he had Corky. Mom walked there and sure enough, there was Corky with his paws up on the counter in front of the cashier. Had trotted in behind a customer and was found walking up and down the aisles. He looked at Mom as if to say “can I help you?” Another morning the school crossing guard waved him across the street and he made his way into the playground at the local grammar school. Mom found him sitting among the children who were talking to him and patting his beige coat. His big smile made them laugh and Mom laughed with them! The Escape Artist Corky always took the opportunity to scoot around us and run out the door when Mom was leaving to go shopping. Taking-off down the street, he would refuse to return when we called his name. One of us kids would shout “shotgun” and jump in the front seat of our van next to Mom. We would take-off chasing after Corky. It was hard when he veered-off into a back yard or ran across a street. Armed with food and his leash, we would finally corner him. As if to say “game’s over”, he would slowly walk to a treat and his leash, and jump-up into the waiting van. Looking For Fun Halloween was a lot of fun! We dressed up in funny costumes and went “trick or treating” up and down the streets of our small community. As usual we had left Corky in the back yard with the wooden gate closed. We were two blocks from our house running from house to house to collect candy when Mom looked across the street. She said “Oh, see that cute dog walking after that group of children? He looks like Corky.” We all turned to see him and cried, “that is Corky!” Corky loved a good parade! On St. Patrick’s Day, we found him with a young family lying under their lawn chair sleeping in the warm afternoon sun while the green and white floats went by. Following a Mardi Gras parade, we found him on the front porch of a house with partying college kids who had strung bright colored beads around his neck. He looked at Mom as if to say “come join the fun!”. Venturing Too Far But one day, Corky’s adventurous life caught-up with him. Mom and Dad were at work and we kids were in school. Corky was bored and again nuzzled his nose under the gate latch and escaped out of the yard. His usual walking route took him past the pretty lady’s apartment, and the cross-walk, and the school playground and the drugstore. He decided to check-out the jewelry store. The owner let him in and gave him food and water. He found our telephone number on his dog tag and called our house to let us know that Corky was safe with him. No one was home. He called several times but no one answered the telephone. He was going to be closing his shop early that day. What would he do with Corky? The security guard suggested that he call the pound to pick him up. He did. Corky was scared. This was new to him. A man in a blue uniform came and put him into a cage in a truck. He was driven to a cement building. There he saw lots of dogs in cages. They looked sad, mad and scared. He became scared, too. What had he done? Would Mom and Dad come to pick him up? He was given food and water but this wasn’t like home. A few hours later he heard familiar voices. He stood up and barked and barked. We had found out where Corky was and came to rescue him. When he saw us he started jumping up and down as if to say “please get me out of here!” We were all excited! Mom paid the fine and we quickly walked out with Corky on his leash trying to lick us all over. After that day, Corky stayed in the backyard or the house. His wandering days were over. There was no place like home!