Our Christmas Pup!

Pokey Dots, whose real name is Pokey Rowdy Bandit, came to live with us 16 years ago yesterday. Yesterday was also the day that Pokey joined all good dogs in Heaven. He was a Christmas present to my husband and I can still remember the day we went to get him. It had to be the coldest, snowiest day of the year and we had to travel some 100 plus miles to get him. My son Jeremy and his best friend Brent were to follow in the pickup as they were to take him with them to college and 'store' him until Christmas Day when he would become a present under the tree. I took along with me, my daughter Brandi and her friend Misty. Much to my dismay, after battling very slick roads with almost no visibility, the people I bought the dog from didn't show up. I had come to get a puppy and I wasn't leaving without him. He was the last puppy of the 10 plus puppies and I did NOT want to lose out on the dog.We went to Cabella's at Sidney and I started asking people if they knew of a dog breeder who raised Dalmatians. To make a long, cold story short....we found who they were called them and they brought him to us.
You can imagine my surprise and well disappointment when they handed him to me and he really didn't have a lot of spots. But none the less we fell in love with the pup the minute we laid eyes on him. Off we took for the 3 plus hours home. We knew he was going to be a spunky little thing from the very beginning when he growled at Misty and well peed on her too. Jeremy, whose pickup gave out on him early on in our travels finally had it up and going and off they took with him to college. He couldn't stay at the dorm so he then went to stay with some of their friends. Several mishaps later including replacing a telephone, door and a few other minor things Pokey had to find a new hideout. At this time we should have realized he was not the ordinary pup, a little over the top with energy, very noisy and well he chewed on everything. I mean EVERYTHING! He would eat a pop can if left in his path of destruction. So off he went to stay with Brent's parents, a couple of animal loving people who said "not a problem, we will shelter him for the next week until Christmas". However that only lasted a short time when we finally decided Jeff would just have to have an early present.



We were so excited to give him this dog, all of our children and I don't know how many of their friends were sitting around the tree just waiting for Jeff to arrive to see his new dog. Pokey was all decked out with a bright red bow around his neck and placed on a package just waiting for his new master. It took Jeff awhile to see him because he was trying to figure out why the living room was packed with people and they were all starring at him with this anticipation of what, he didn't know.
However when Jeff laid eyes on his little dog it was love at first sight. They became the best of friends that night and that friendship was the strongest bond I think I have every seen between a man and his dog. Pokey loved him as much as anything too and reminded a faithful, loyal friend right to the end.
We had many, many ups and downs with this dog, from ruining everything that wasn't tied down in my house to developing a disease called Addisons in his later life that required monthly trips to the vet at $100 a pop to keep him alive. I think you could almost say he was a Mi$$ion in one dog.
When I gave the dog to Jeff he had the official name as he was a papered Dalmatian but of course he needed a regular name. There were just two stipulations with this gift. 1. He could NOT name him Spot - so he didn't he named him Pokey Dots and 2. He could not sleep on the bed, and he never - he slept IN the bed, right between Jeff and I, as you can see in one of these photos.
So now we lay Pokey to rest. He will be cremated, his urn is a Dalmatian Jar that was given to us by a very dear 'little' friend. Alisha gave Jeff (papa as she called him) this present as a Christmas gift when Pokey was one year old. There is a picture of them in the photo below. Jeff's wishes will to someday be cremated and put in the jar with Pokey. So Rest in Peace Pokey - you were a wonderful gift to us and now you are in God's inviting hands. We love you.