Memories Of My Dog

Some years ago, there was a television commercial for cheese, an ad in which people were shown doing all sorts of risky and humorous things in order to acquire a piece of golden cheddar. At the end of the commercial, a mellow male voice would intone, “Behold the power of cheese.”

We saw this power in action a few times with our dog Bonnie. One wintry day several years ago, Bonnie was outside exploring. My wife heard her run up onto the back deck, and so she went to let the dog in. When she opened the door, she saw Bonnie holding the rear half of a large rabbit in her mouth. Bonnie tried to bring the rabbit inside, but my wife pushed her back and ran to get the camera so that she could take a photo for me. Then she began trying to get Bonnie to let go of the rabbit. Fat chance. When she got a death-grip on something, Bonnie could not be persuaded to relinquish it. But then Mrs. Orr hit upon an idea.

She left Bonnie on the deck and went and got some cheese from the fridge. Cheese was one of Bonnie’s many food-joys. My wife presented the cheese and coaxed Bonnie in a quiet voice to let go of the rabbit. Bonnie cut her eyes sideways at the cheese, then up at my wife, back and forth, indecision playing out on her face. Finally, she opted for the sure thing. Bonnie released her jaws from the poor rabbit and went for the cheese.

Later, in the spring, Bonnie caught a baby squirrel and I tried to pry her jaws apart to rescue it (it was too late, anyway), but with no success. My wife saw what I was doing, ran to get the cheese, and the exact same scenario unspooled.

And the photo my wife took on that winter’s day? She sent it to our youngest son to show him the prize that Bonnie had presented to us. He ended up having coffee mugs made for us with Bonnie & The Rabbit on them. I have sipped coffee from mine almost every day since then.

Last night, instead of cooking a meal, my wife and I snacked on cheese, country ham, olives, pickles, and jalapenos. I fed Dixee a tidbit of cheese, and watching her enjoy it, I thought of Bonnie and her love of the stuff. Ah, the power of cheese.

~ S.K. Orr