Little ball of black fur with a big red bow around his neck.
Took a beeline for my lap, crawled up sat down like he belonged.
Well I guess he did, for the next ten years he and I were best
of friends.
Brave and always by my side, I used to pray our friendship would never
end.
A Schipperke dog about a foot tall, but thought he stood ten.
Always there to help me, a ranch dog no city dog, not him.
Tuffy T Smith was his registered name.
People said we were so close, I felt our last name should be the same.
He was one of three Schipperke dogs that lived with me.
Tuffy, Flower and Kiki the mousers three.
I remember the day the Simmental bull was going to take me.
A little ball of black lightning flew past.
Eighteen pounds of dog taking on twenty five hundred pounds of bull,
not a sight I want to see.
I got away but thought I'd lost my dog, picked him up carried
him to the yard.
He sat up looked around as if to say lets go get that bull dad, what
a little black card.
Not that I had any bad feelings toward the bull, not at all.
But we renamed him hamburger that day, I needed me and my dog standing
tall.
If working on a tractor or the transmission out of a pickup, he
was there in the grease to help.
He would ride all day in the pickup truck or on tractor seat and not
complain, not a yelp.
Two special lady friends he had, Flower who lived with him and
Maggie that came to visit.
When Flower had puppies, Tuff would puppy sit while Flower was out,
he was content to just sit.
When we lost Flower dog it was a sad time for all, a truly dark
day.
For many nights after, Tuff would sit at her bed scratch at it and
whine.
He couldn't understand why she had gone away.
Now Tuff had several girl friends over the years, that didn't
come to stay.
He seemed to like it best when Maggie from a town next door came to
play.
Then the day of the big dog fight came, the vet said take him
home Jim, this old dog will be ok.
I took him home lay him down next to me.
I went to sleep not for long, when I awoke he was still next to me
but his spirit had gone away.
I felt as if part of me had died, a part of my heart ripped away.
Tuff, Flower, Kiki and Maggs are all gone now, somewhere they have
a grassy field where they play.
This might sound like the end of the story I tell today, but there's
more yet to say.
Nine litters of Schipperke pups I looked at, the year after Tuff went
away.
I knew a pup could never replace him, but I was simply lost without
my friend.
Then with litter nine my search came to an end.
The Schipperke pups were three weeks old when I went to look at
them, just more pups.
One pup started to follow me around, even though he couldn't quite
keep up.
I put him in my lap, he sat down like that's where he should be.
I asked to see his breeding.
My eyes started to water when I saw it, it's my old dog Tuffs grandson
sitting there on my knee.
Well needless to say at six weeks of age this pup came to live
with me.
He's two now, his name is Jasper, a lot like his grandad it's so plain
to see.
I slip from time to time and call him Tuff instead of his name.
He looks at me, seems to smile and comes just the same.
It's like we found each other, a friend he and I now will always be.