Dad wanted a farm dog—one that would help him in herding livestock and be a watch dog on the farm. He wanted a dog not coddled by his daughters.
Once us girls were in college, Dad had a chance to train his desired loyal hard working furry companion. He found someone giving away a puppy—a yellow lab/German shepherd motley mix. The pup slept in a nail keg when he arrived. Thus, he was named Kegger.
Everything started out well for Dad who thought he could train this dog. Kegger was not a quick learner, but he was only a puppy. He mostly followed Dad around and got into typical puppy curiosity troubles.
Farm dogs did not live indoors. Our dogs, however, spent nights in a warm enclosed porch. During the day, they were free to roam but usually stayed nearby waiting for a human to emerge.
One summer morning when he was a couple years old, Kegger went with my dad to do chores and then disappeared for several hours. Dad was concerned hoping that Kegger had not been hit by a car. Midafternoon mom got a call from the YMCA camp that was two miles down the road. The director said a yellow dog showed up and one of the neighbors thought it might belong to the Hendersons. Kegger had endeared himself to every child he encountered at camp that day. Dad retrieved him, apologized, and promised Kegger would not return.
He kept a close eye on Kegger for several days and tied him up if he was away hoping that Kegger would be cured of his roaming and forget the campers. When Dad thought Kegger had learned his lesson, he was under less scrutiny. Within days of Kegger’s freedom, however, the camp called and said Kegger had come for another visit. Camp was over in two weeks so Dad thought the problem would end once the children went home.
All was well into the fall and Kegger kept by Dad’s side. One late autumn day, however, my mother who was a reading specialist at our local elementary school, was assigned playground duty. When she went outside, she found Kegger nuzzling every child that would pay attention to him. Dad came to town and took him home.
This day at school was not isolated. Kegger set off to school (or camp) whenever he had a chance. He was addicted to children who would love on him.
Kegger was loyal to Dad but not committed enough to stay home willingly and tend to farm activities if children were an option. He lived a long life as a lovable mutt who eventually abandoned his wandering ways. My Dad adored Kegger, but Kegger never became a hard-working farm dog.
Footnote: My father turns 99 this month in heaven. I love remembering stories about him and his adventures, especially with animals.