When I was little I loved animals.

  Although most children have pets,  I could not convince my parents into allowing me to have one until my pre teens.  I could not have been happier the day my family went to the pound and I picked out my dog Skippy.  Skippy loved to run and he was loyal to me and I will never forget the day I lost him.

My mom and I would take Skippy for a run after school some times.  We drove down Parker Rd. to an undeveloped neighborhood with a street that resembled a quarter mile race track.  As we neared the ghostly street my dog would pace frantically almost unable to contain his enthusiasm.  Once we let him out my mom drove around the  street  three or four times as Skippy chased us like a Gray hound chasing the rabbit at a race track.

One time my mom took Skippy along to Golden on one of her visits to her chiropractor.  He ran his business out of his house that sat on a fairly large piece of land.  My mom felt it would be OK to let Skippy run around the chiropractors land while she took her appointment.  Later that evening my mom came to pick me up at my friend's house.  When I got in the truck she told me Skippy never came back after her appointment.  As we drove back to Golden to see if my dog returned I remember thinking I would trade anything if I could only have my dog back.  As we neared the house I saw Skippy in our head lights waging his tail like an angel.

When my parents decided to get divorced they wanted to sell our house and move to separate apartments.  I didn't think about it at first but soon realized I would have to part with my beloved dog.  After a few months of fighting over the issue with my parents we came to an agreement.  My mom told me she had a friend who lives on a farm and was willing to take Skippy in.  I decided if I had to let my dog go, a farm is the only place I'd send him.  My mom took Skippy to her friend's house and when she got home I made her call out to the farm to see if Skippy was OK.  Her friend said Skippy had run off and hadn't returned.  Skippy never came back to that farm. 

I still think about my old dog from time to time.  It's funny how attached you can get to animals.  I felt Skippy was part of my family just as important as the other members.  For a child that only had one pet I don't think I could have had a better friend.