Molasses
Molasses was a wonderful dorky kind of dog that we found one day at the local feed store. He was only 4 weeks old and his face was all smushed and had puppy wrinkles. He lay among his several brothers and sisters, a few of whom were black in color. Molasses was golden brown. His mother was an AKC Golden Retriever who had somehow met up with the "traveling salesman" of the neighborhood, a Black Lab with Gordon Setter lines. We found out all the dog information after we decided to adopt Molasses and one of his brothers, Jake, a beautiful black puppy. Molasses was born on October 9, 1993 and joined our family in November 1993.
Just before Thanksgiving, Molasses and Jake came home to live with us. They slept together in a much too large wicker basket by the wood stove and their early days that winter were very fun for them and work for us. Soon we came home to gnawed chairs, broom handles and anything else that they set their teeth into. It was then decided that they should start spending the day in the basement. They gnawed the wooden stairs down there.
When they were outside they chased each other and often carried sticks together. Once I gave them an old tie and both pups carried the tie, each one on an end of the tie. It was great fun to watch them play in our large yard. But our good fortune did not last very long. Due to financial reasons, we decided that it was best to give one of the dogs away. Finally we decided that Jake would have to leave and go to the pound. The first time we took Jake to the pound, it was closed. He stayed a few more weeks and then he was gone. We pined for Jake and Molasses soon became the official dog of the family.
We adjusted to the one dog family quickly and Molasses also adjusted to the numerous cats that we had. The cats always had the upper "paw" on poor Molasses but he was the favorite when it came to playtime.
Things he really liked to do:
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Eat..."Whatcha' got"
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Play ball, any kind of ball: football, baseball, softball
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Help me cook dinner
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Help his daddy in the garden
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Play with our daughter
Molasses had a knack for eating those things YOU DO NOT WANT your dog to eat, like chocolate, dead animals, animal feces, chicken bones and all the other leftovers. He also liked to eat fruit, vegetables, and cat food! He was well fed but developed these eccentric tastes over the years that we lived together. The chocolate story is one of our favorites....
Does your dog like Reeses?
One Halloween my daughter had amassed a large quantity of chocolate and we had loads of leftover chocolate candy...Reeses, Crunch bars, Three Musketeers, etc. All the chocolate candy was then dumped into a large basket and it sat on the couch. We did not think a thing about the dog and the candy. I went on about my usual chores and our daughter was upstairs doing her homework. Meanwhile Molasses was in the living room eating the candy from the basket! After several minutes I came walking through the living room and noticed that the basket was empty. I did not really think much of this at first and then I asked our daughter where the chocolate was. She said it was in the basket. I laughed and said, "No way!" Apparently my loud comment brought Molasses into the living room and I looked at him thinking the worse. He had eaten almost 20 pieces of candy, wrappers and cardboard, all of it gone! I immediately phoned my husband and told him the story. Should we take the dog to the vet? He said take the dog outside first. You know, that dog never threw up and we did not notice anything else. After that, all candy and food was not left out in the open ever again.
The Good Friday Pig
My husband's favorite story was the day Molasses and several other neighborhood dogs decided to sample some PORK! It was Holy Thursday, the day before Good Friday and I had just come home from teaching school. I was very exhausted. I saw Molasses running around the yard with his long chain attached to his collar. I really did not think much about this and went inside. A half hour elapsed and I received a frantic phone call from our neighbor, my dog and several other dogs were eating one her piglets that had escaped over in the woods! That explained the loud dog barking I was hearing. I told her I would be out there right away. I changed out of my work clothes and went out to find the dog. We live in a rural wooded area and looking for animals can be a big deal.
Eventually Molasses came home looking very nonchalant even though his long chain was still attached. The neighbors were not so nonchalant. They were raising three pigs for profit and the pigs had taken off into the woods. The pig Molasses was seen eating had its curly tail bitten off! I flipped out when I saw Molasses and wondered why he had pulled the stake for the chain out of the large tree. Then I found out that the other neighbor up the street who owned the Rottweiler, was also at fault! That dog had gotten loose and come down to see my dog and then both dogs met up with more dogs and soon they were all off. The pigs had somehow gotten loose and the dogs found them and attacked them. My neighbor was plenty sore and threatened to shoot my dog if he found Molasses first. Good thing he was just angry but I was not going to argue with him since he was carrying a shotgun. It was a long weekend and finally the neighbor found his three little pigs, two dead and one might as well have been dead. We also paid him $35 to cover his loss of the pig that our dog helped eat. It was a long time before we all spoke to each other again after that. Molasses proved to us what kind of a dog he really was!
But a real dog is also a companion of unconditional love. During the summer of 2003, we noticed that Molasses was not eating nor playing. His weight was going down and he was sleeping more. Then one day he just could not get up to go outside and urinate. My daughter and I hauled him to the vet and we all knew that his last summer was here. He was very ill with kidney problems and also cancer. It seemed like a very long time at the vet's that day until when we finally took him home. All of us knew that his condition was terminal and we threw away the rule book! Molasses could now sit in the family room and shed his fur all over the carpet, he could sleep anywhere he wanted, eat all the food he wanted and could go outside anytime we were home. Rules are useless when one is dying!
Another reason to have a party...
The summer of 2003 our daughter was also leaving for her first semester in college. We planned a large going away party for her in August and she forewarned all her friends that Molasses was dying and that he would be at the party. Her friends loved seeing him. He was on Prednisone at this point and seemed to keep up with everyone. Molasses said hello to all her friends and family. He played badminton, ate lots of food, pizza, cake, and then took a very long doggy nap on the deck while all of us talked. In many ways, he said good-bye to everyone that day. I don't think we could have planned it any better. Our daughter was happy that her dog was contented.
Molasses finally crossed-over later that week in the arms of our neighbor and our trusting vet. We were in Texas because we took our daughter to college. Fortunately the vet knew our neighbor and the whole situation and she was able to make the final decision. I knew that Molasses was going to die that week because I had a strong dream about it the night before we left for Texas and that is when I saw this website, Cloud Dog. My dog had given me a lasting gift, the idea for this website.
Pets are amazing companions in our world. They give us pleasure, friendship, frustration, pain and most of all LOVE. Sometimes they give us gifts we least expect or realize like patience, generosity and compassion. I never owned a dog before Molasses but he gave my family and I so many wonderful memories which we will always be grateful for.
Born: October 9, 1993/ Deceased: August 22, 2003
Molasses
FirstDog...BestDog...CloudDog.