Ten years ago, amid a litter of ten pups was born a little male whom we later named Bacchus. Bacchus was the Roman God of wine and orgies. It seemed regal yet fun loving to our ears.
When he was old enough to come home we were handed a tiny fur ball who fit in one hand. He was much smaller than the cat…but not for long!
He grew fast. He was strong and pulled our youngest to the ground once or twice but he was never mean. He would crouch to the ground every time we stopped in front of a stroller or a small child as if he knew that a flick of his tail could knock them off their feet.
He did have a naughty period around 13 months when he would steal and chew on things. I remember the morning after my son’s grad dance, I was doing the laundry. I had sorted the clothes by color, on the floor next to the washer. Once I was done with the washing and drying of the whites I started folding and was stunned to see a big hole in my son’s underwear. My imagination ran wild: what went on at those proms??? I was too embarrassed to confront him and went on wondering for a few days…until I ran another load of laundry and found a similar hole in my own underwear!!! That’s when it occurred to me that the holes had been chewed out by Bacchus!!
His favorite season was undoubtedly winter! He was a Bernese Mountain dog, a Swiss breed and loved snow! He would burry his face in snow or if there was no loose snow to play in he would sit on a snow bank for hours no matter how cold it got. He did the same thing in piles of leaves in the fall but in that case I suspect the rich smells attracted him.
He did not like water and never willingly went for a swim in the lake, but he enjoyed canoeing and would gladly climb in whenever we took the canoe out.
He had a habit that surprised people: he would sit on their feet. I think it was a genetic trait; as this breed, a bit like St Bernards, often worked in the Alps, and were trained / programmed to warm peoples feet.
He was a good dog, and I think he lived a happy life in our house. He developed a large inoperable tumor in his belly and when we detected that he was suffering we had him put to sleep. Although it was done with care and respect it was a very sad experience. Bacchus was not scared or nervous, contrary to what some people say I don’t think he knew what was happening. He was given a tranquilizer, he lied down on a blanket while we held him and petted him. Once he was relaxed the vet injected some substance and before she was finished he was gone. It was not obvious to us but she checked his heart beat and told us when it was over. We stayed with him a while longer and at one point he made a big sigh…as if he was relieved…it startled us but made us smile through our tears…Goodbye Bacchus…He was the first picture I posted on this website and although these are the last pictures of him I will post his memory will stay with me…
