Da Dawg!

This is my pooch. One hundred, twenty-five pounds of solid dog!

I'll never forget the day I brought him home. I had to travel out of town to a little farming community, if you want to call it that, one summer morning just prior to my senior year in high school. It was a Saturday as I recall because I remember hurrying so I could get back in order to get to work on time later that afternoon.

As I drove up, a large white German Shepherd walked up to my car. I decided it was time to roll up my window; I heard my father begin to laugh.

After being assured by the owner that she wouldn't bite, we decided to get off the car. I asked if she had anymore left, and she said yes. Earlier on the phone, her husband had told me that there were only two boys left. Well, within seconds a herd of puppies came running from around the corner of her house. They were all gorgeous! Some black, some brown, some mixed with the classic brown with black saddle as you see most German shepherds.

As usual, Dad began talking like he knew dogs, and what to look for. Oh please? My old man cant stand dogs and knows shit about them! I thought it funny how he was trying to "show", but oh well, I didn't say anything. This was very "me" back then; I kept my opinions to myself, was gun-shy, and didn't like to get involved with other people's feelings or emotions for the worst. Nowadays, I'm very opposite for the most part.

"This one!" Dad said. "Fine, I'll take this one." I told the lady. She carefully held the mother by the neck as I handed her over a 50 dollar bill. "Where's the dad?" I asked.

"He's buried under that tree over there. One day he was out in the street and an 18 wheeler hit 'em. Yeah, ol' Sam was a good dog." The Son of Sam I thought. I was wondering if my knew purchase was somehow related to David Berkowitz, maybe not. Of course, looking back, I'm only half joking with all the crap this dog has put me through.

We were trying to figure out before we left what his name would be. I was a bit set back. "Lets call him Nash!" Nash Bridges was my Dad's favorite show at the time. "I guess," I said. Then I got to thinking,,,,,,,,,,, isn't there a wrestler by the name of Nash. "Hey, that's not a bad name for a badass dog," I told my old man.

Off we were back home. I drove as my newly-born, future guardian sat ever so calm in my father's arms. I couldn't believe it--Dad holding a pet. That's like seeing Paris Hilton do charity work.

Well, 10 years later, give or take a few months......my pooch is settling down into his final years. He's been through a lot: hot-ass, merciless summers, cold winters, very good eating (trust me, I've dished out a freaking fortune), a few ass-chewings by me and especially my gracious mother who raised him when I went away to A&M within the next two years of getting him, a car that ran over him and gave him a limp for months, me running over his paw while parking mom's car in the garage this past winter after Christmas Mass, snow cones, his ever favorite $1 burgers from MacDonald's (pics where taken at McD's this past Friday night), shots at the vet, rectal thermometers, minor surgery on this manhood (make that major surgery), pills for his joints, ticks, heat rash and fleas, cats and road runners eating his food, his girlfriend's boyfriend eating his food when the girl would pretend to like him just so her 1 inch dick buddy could eat his food (I got tired of seeing this shit and I really slapped the living shit out of her with a piece of scrap metal), dog fights he usually won because of his sheer size and strength, studding requests by people who had female German shepherds (I wanted to have his jizz frozen and stored at the A&M Vet school but Mom had him neutered before I could ....), thwarted a thief from stealing my mom's car who actually needed her help that night to call off the dog so he could get out of the garage, attacks on my nephew and aunts for fucking with him when he wasn't in the mood, wieners given to him at the park by strangers who liked him, smacked with sticks by dads only trying to protect their children (I told them he didn't bite but they didn't take the chance, rightly so).......and on and on and on.........

Behold, I give you Nash!