When I Was a Young Girl: Reminiscences of Childhood

topic: a child, a dog, a message for children

I have fond memories of my grandparents. They were wonderful people, who were honest and true, and loving and kind. My parents were a lot like my grandparents, and I had a happy childhood. Well, there were spankings and scoldings which I did not like; nevertheless it was a very kind and loving environment, for us and our relatives and our friends. My brother, William (older than I), we called “Billy.”

When I was very young, my brother Billy got a dog that was part German Shepard, part “spits” (that meant mixed, and no one was sure what kind of mix). Billy named him Pepsi. Pepsi had German Shepard markings, mostly black. His face and head had short hair, black with brown and white markings, and was soft to pet. I loved to pet his head and ears. He, on the other hand, loved to have his neck scratched; most dogs do. The rest of his hair was medium length, like a German Shepard, mostly black, with a little brown and white on his legs and paws. His tail was black with a white tip at the end, and curved up over his back. The long hair on his tail stood up on the top side and looked like a fan.

Back in those days, a dog could be outside and go anywhere, without being fenced in or on a rope or leash. Pepsi liked to be outside. He kept the yard clean. He did not let other dogs come in our yard. Billy liked to play with him. Sometimes they would play ball or fetch the stick.

In the summertime, our family would go to the beach at the lake, and Pepsi would go with us. He was part of the family, playing on the sandy beach, swimming in the lake. Our cousins from the big city would come visit, and go to the lake, too. We spent some cool time on hot days at the beach; where else could you get cooled off? No one had air conditioners then.

My parents got us children two kittens, one for me and one for Billy. I mostly “loved” kittens. Billy had a gray and black tiger, and I had a black kitten with white whiskers, paws, and the tip of its tail. Pepsi was gentle with cats and kittens. They would sometimes take a daytime snooze together. My kitten was outside in the yard while I was supposedly "watching" him; he ran away and was lost. Billy’s cat, Gus, grew up and was a good cat and a good mouser. He would always lay there and let you pet him. His fur was soft, and I liked to pet him. Billy taught his cat to keep his feet warm on cold winter nights.

Pepsi liked being under the dining room table while we were eating, waiting for any food that got dropped. He kept the carpet very clean of food. If I had food I didn’t like, I would “accidently drop” some of it under the table. I think Billy shared whatever. My mother would give him scraps that were hard to chew or fat trimmings, at the table.

“You aren’t going to eat that? I’ll give it to the dog. Here, Pepsi!”

Pepsi came right there and caught the food in his mouth. He was Billy’s dog, but mostly he was my mother’s dog. She groomed him, took him to the vet when needed, and always remembered to feed him when others forgot.

Pepsi loved to chase cars. He got hit by a car on two different occasions, and got up and walked away. He still chased cars.

When Pepsi got older, he got fat. My mother decided to change his dog food to a different kind and stop giving him table scraps. It seems to me as I recall, “other” family members would still sneak him scraps at the table. When we children were older (still in school), Mother started working at our Uncle Bud’s store. Pepsi learned to like to sleep on the couch when everyone was gone. My mom would come home from the store and, when Pepsi heard the door opening, he would hop off the couch. My mother would hear him getting off the couch! One time, she came in quietly and she saw him on the couch! He would not get off. As hard as she tried, he stayed right there. She tried to MOVE him, but he would not budge. After that occasion, she made sure he heard the door.

He was a faithful dog, except when he would disappear during the season the dogs were “running.” I think twice, Pepsi came home smelling like a skunk. The last time he did, my mother told him to go away until he didn’t smell like a skunk! He went away, came back later very dirty, and NOT smelling like a skunk at all.

. During his dog life, Pepsi was there when Billy and I grew to teens, and Bill (no longer “Billy”) went to college. Through our growing-up years, whether we liked him or whether we were annoyed with him, there was the family dog, Pepsi.

Mary Alice Williamson © Copyright 2008