Pass The Ammo

It was spring of 2003. I had been wanting a hound dog for years, and this was the year that I was gonna get one. I was ready to search the internet, but I decided to check out the local Humane Society first. I originally had a bloodhound on my mind, but that all changed when I met Copper. He was a black and tan coonhound, and boy did he have the look.

He was already a born pickup truck dog. When ever I drove off without him… I could feel his pain. Riding in the truck was his idea of heaven. And if he wasn’t riding shotgun, he woulden’t stop bellering out the side of the truck bed. He was friendly as can be, knew to sit, and come… he was great. He went everywhere with me that year. To the lake to swim, to Jeff’s barn for riding and cleaning stalls. He was my best friend.

Alot of folks will say he was annoying, and he very well could be. But I loved him. He was sneaky now and then, but not in a bad way. Our front door never did close properly. So he’d always test it, and if it opened… well, he snuck the house so quietly, that it woulden’t be till an hour later that we’d find him curled up in the laundry room on a blanket. He was a house dog at heart. And you never could discipline him. He would holler so loud, even with the slightest slap on the butt. People would swear somebody was killing their dog.

He had to have been 6 or 7 when I first got him. The grey in his whiskers didn’t much show until this last winter. I don’t know what his life was like before I came into it. All I know is that I gave him a pretty darn good last few years. He roamed freely on my folks acreage. Had 600 acres of woods and a canyon across the street. Moose, deer and horses to pick on everywhere. Varmints to chase. And buddy dogs next door to play with. But it was his personality that really made him shine in my eyes. Unlike any other dog I’ve had. He was my best dog.

Copper spent all of wednesday with me. We worked together building a deck in the morning, and he rode in the truck to everywhere else I had to go. He helped us move into our new house, too. So he was fine all that day.

Thursday morning I arrive at my folks house at 6:00 am to find out that Coppers been missing since last nite. When they brought him home the night before, he was acting very ill. He was whimpering, and woulden’t let anyone come near him. So he went off in the woods by himself, and cried all night. So I search the woods that morning trying to find him, and hopefully alive. After about a half hour, I heard a yelp come from the front woods. I ran around from the back porch calling his name. He emerged… looking terrible.

He could barely walk, his stomach was swollen, drool hanging from his mouth, and breathing very hard. I carried him to the laundry room, where we tried to get him to eat and drink. It was useless. The poor old feller just kept throwin it back up.

Doc Tester lived a few doors down from my folks house. He’s been a vet here in Kootenai County for over 30 years. A real good neighbor. I called his home and left a message about my sick hound dog. Doc knew Copper from seeing him around his property on occasion.

Doc called back and told me to bring Copper on in to his clinic in town, if his conditions didn’t improve.

Friday morning came, and my mom called to let me know he was still in the same boat. So I had her bring him down to our billiard shop, and I drove him to Doc’s place. I had no idea how I was going to pay for any treatment. We just bought a house, and our baby is due next month with no health insurance for us.

I explain all that to Doc while Copper lies on the table breathing forcefully and painfully. He throws up a little on the counter and Doc wipes it up. He says that the only way they can get an idea, is with a blood test. And thats gonna cost $80 bucks. Hesitantly, I agree. I hate seeing Copper suffer.

The results come back and say that everything is normal. So Doc says that he’ll give Copper an X-Ray at no cost. I thank him and I carry Copper to the X-Ray machine. I return to the waiting room waiting nervously. Not long after, Doc returns and tells me things are looking bad. Copper has a huge tumor in his stomach. Apparently it must have rolled over and caused some serious problems almost instantly for Copper. I could either spend $700 bucks on a risky removal surgery, or put him down. That was when I choked up.

They gave me a minute while I said my goodbyes to my friend. I hugged his neck, and told him he really is the best dog I’ve ever had. After a minute I opened the door and signaled the Doc. He came in and got his needle ready. I cried and kissed his head as his heartbeat came to a slow stop. He wasn’t fighting to breath anymore. He looked so peaceful now. He wasn’t shaking, and hacking for breath. I was glad the pain had stopped for him.

He seemed so perfectly fine just the other day. And now it’s all over. I was so excited to own my own home, cos I was allowed to keep him with me, instead of my folks house. He never even got to spend one night with me in our new home. I wish my daughter had a chance to meet him, too.

Memories we’ve had together flooded my mind as I drove to the woods with copper laying next to me on the bench seat. Like that time he came to the front door with his face full of porcupine quills. Or all the various dead critters he’d bring home to chew. Or how he’d follow Jeff’s horses around a bit too close, and old Oreo gave him a clean hoof to the ribs. That taught him a good lesson. Or that time that me and Erik were headed to downtown Cd’A, and Copper had his front paws up on the side of the truck bed, as I went over a pothole. His paws slipped forward, and over the edge he went. I could see him rolling along side the truck, half on the sidewalk, and half off. I’ll bet that smarts. Good thing I was only going 25. But he never did climb up on the bed wall again.

I took him up to French Gulch, where I had hidden a geocache last fall. It’s also the same area where I took my deer last season. It’s not too far out of town, yet it’s still out in the woods. I dedicated that Cache to him. Cos I know I’ll be up there again to check on him and the cache.

So now he lies on a hilltop, over looking French Gulch and most of Coeur d’Alene. I love you, Copper. You really were the best damn dog I ever had.