Have you ever had one of those beloved pets that you just can't ever forget, no matter how much time passes? I have one of those...a full blood German Shepherd, Maddie Mad Dog of Noblecroft was her registered name. She was a birthday present when I was five. You know, no matter how much times flies I can still see what she looked like in my mind. She was my best friend. For those people who say that animals don't have personalities, I will argue until the day I retire from this world that you are wrong. Maddie proved this point over and over again. She had every bit of a personaility, she expressed herself so much through everything she did. Everyday was a learning experience for the both of us.

I was barely old enough to understand the importance of her when I recieved her as a gift from my parents. My father came home late from work on the evening of my birthday, he came in and asked me to follow him outside. Standing on our back porch in the dark cool late winter air my father let out a whistle and no sooner had the sound faded were muddy little paws trampling all over my feet. She was nothing but a little black ball of fur. As she grew, I did the same. The summer days were the greatest, I am an only child and living out in the middle of nowhere... well, in the country with no others to play with is hard on a child. The farm yard and the pasture was our playground.

I was always getting into trouble for playing in the water as a young child... one afternoon Maddie and I came back from our usual rompings out in the pasture. I was soaked from head to toe. My mother who was working in the back yard noticed my recent appearance and stopped what she was doing, questioning me, like any parent would do, she asked what had happened. Just as serious and innocent I could I responded by telling her that Maddie, the dog, had pushed me in. Of course she knew better, but to get a response like that from a child all anger goes out the window and humor sets in. Of course she knew better, but that was besides the point. It was the humor that Maddie brought into our lives that made things so much more enjoyable.

She was so smart. Well trained. My parents had a lot to do with the trainng, but they allowed me to help which was a learning expierence. She had the usualy tricks down, sit, stay, down, heal. But my dad taught her something else. He would ask her a series of questions. Usually prompted by her favorite treat, an iced oatmeal cookie... nonetheless, the questions were as follows: one - What's on the outside of a tree... answer - bark ( and Maddie would make it sound like she'd said the word bark), two - How does sandpaper feel... answer - rough (again, it would sound like the word rough had been spoken), three - what's on top of a house... answer - roof (it too would sound like she'd spoken the word roof), and the fourth question would be... would you rather be a cat or a dead dog... and Maddie would hit the floor laying flat on her side and would not move until my father had told her what a good girl she was. Again, a very very smart dog she was.

As I got older, she did too. As any living thing does, it ages. I became preoccupied with other things, such as school and dating... and began to spend less and less time with Maddie, but that never stopped her from being there. No matter what happened in my life, when I felt like I was alone, she was there. She would hug me... I know it sounds odd and like I'm personifing a dog, but believe me it's no personification. She would place her head on my shoulder and then with her bottom jaw would pull me closer to her neck and chest... and then with the look of understanding in her eyes, I knew I wasn't alone... and so many times I wouldn't have to say a thing, I wouldn't have to be crying or angry... she knew and would be there at my side when I needed her the most.

I was 15 years old. Ten years we had spent together. Arthritus had set in her hips and it was getting really difficult for her to get up and down. One night she ended up having an accident in our living room floor from not being able to get up quick enough and to the door. I stood in the doorway of my bedroom down the hall and listened that evening as my parents talked. I knew the decision I had to make. The next morning, and mind you this is early fall. I'm sitting on the back porch with my father in front of me, and my mother avoiding me so she wouldn't have to hear the conversation that she too dread so much. Sure enough, the conversation arose... my father saying, "Jennifer, she's your dog, she always has been. It is your decision."

I looked over at the most loyal best friend that I could have ever had who was laying in the grass nearby... my heart sinking heavily to the pit of my stomach I couldn't stand to see Maddie suffer any more than she had been. Looking to my dad I suggested that she be put to sleep. My mother had been standing in the doorway of the back door and slipped off to another part of the house sobbing.

I had started school the same year I got Maddie. There was not a day that went by that she did not see me on the bus and then be waiting there to greet me when I got home. I had looked to my dad and asked for him to stay in the house that morning... and for the last time, she walked me to the end of my drive where I waited for the bus to arrive. As I was waiting, I looked into Maddie's eyes so full of wisdom and understanding, compassion and protection and I knelt down beside her. My fingers ran through her soft fur on her neck and the tears began to sting at my eyes. I wispered to her, even though no one was around... "For ten years you have been my best friend, even when I left you at home to run around and do my own thing, ignoring you as I lived my life and grew to be my own person, when the world turned it's back on me.. you were sitting right there. I love you Maddie... and I'll never forget my best friend." I hugged her neck, sobbing by this time, and she hugged me back...we sat there in this pose until the bus arrived. I hated having to stand, hated having to turn away and walk onto that bus. It killed me knowing that I would be coming home and not having her there waiting for me. As I took my seat on the bus that morning, I looked back. And where I would usually see her turning to head back to the house... she laid there in the driveway.

I watched her until she disappeared from sight. That evening I climbed off the bus... and loneliness filled the air. There was a silence that seemed to be only noticable to me. MY father had met me at the door, a broken heart visible in his eyes as he tried to be strong for me and my mother. My mother's sobs could be heard down the hallway. As my father's eyes met mine, he looked at me letting out a forced smile, "you know, I had to pick her up from the driveway and carry her to the car," he paused for a moment, "it wasn't because she couldn't make it to the car... it's because you weren't home yet."

I still to this day cannon watch the movie, My Dog Skip, for the simple fact that I cry everytime... the movie itself is great and doesn't really make me cry... it's the monologue near the end that gets me. If anyone ever knew the true meaning of friend... it is best described and understood when one has a pet... a loyal, unselfish, unbiased pet... better put, friend.