Four years ago I found Goliath, or he found me, or we found each other. I was on my way home from work on a Sunday afternoon (I was working at the Buccaneer for a brief stint in their spa ~ extra money in the off-season).

There was a lot of traffic on the winding main road and I saw this little dog weaving in and out of traffic, just making it between cars. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I couldn’t believe that no one was stopping to pick him up. People love little dogs, but I wasn’t one of them. I’d never had a little dog and I thought they were yippy little horrors that rich people carried around to the poodle parlors and salons. But no one was stopping, so I did.

I was able to stop on the shoulder of the road and to call him over when no one was coming. He ran right over and jumped into my arms! I said, “What are you doing?”, in my gasping, incredulous voice. And he said, “I’m looking for a girl!”, in his little dog voice. I said, “Well, you found one!” and after about thirty seconds of mental deliberation, I took him home. He was wearing a collar and he was not neutered. I thought, “if someone REALLY cared, why would they allow him to be running in traffic with his huge testicles swaying in the breeze?”

On the way home I decided that I would have him neutered the next day and then watch for “Lost Pet ” ads in the paper and posters on bulletin boards. If someone loved him enough, they would go through that trouble to get him back, and at least he’s be less likely to run away again once neutered.

He was so small. He was and still is, smaller than our cats. I’d never had a dog that small. It was strange. But he acted all big and always tried to hump the legs of our other dogs. Because we still had cat doors all over the house, I was afraid he’d run away and get lost and/or hurt, so I tied him up most of the time and took him with me other times. His “surgery” was difficult, since he had an undescended testicle and the vet had to go digging for it. I think she eventually found and removed it, but he was a hurtin’ unit (eunuch?) for a few days afterward.

After a short time, we became inseparable. He didn’t need to be tied up anymore because he was happy with the girl he’d found. And, I had the doors replaced so he and the cats couldn’t just come and go as they pleased anymore.

After Michael and I got together, and Goliath approved of the match, we decided that he’d be the ring-bearer at our wedding. We attached some velcro to a little harness and to the ring box so he could carry it to us at the proper time. My daughter would hold him until the right moment and then she’d put him on the ground and he’d come running over to us with the rings……riiight. Our wedding was outside by the water and very informal. One of Michael’s friends brought his two dogs to the ceremony. When Nikki put Goliath down on the ground, he made a beeline for those other dogs because he needed to check them out and assert his superiority. Fortunately, he didn’t lose the rings, another friend was able to pick him up and bring him back over, and Goliath got to complete his task.

Tags: St. Croix

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