‘A FLASH OF RED ON
THE HILL FOR A LONG TIME”
You are probably
thinking from the title that perhaps an ambulance or a police car was on this
hill for quite a spell but I’d have to say that would be wrong. A sunset? No,
not really. What I’m talking about that had a flash of red was an Irish Setter
that roamed freely and yet he did have a home—right up the street from me. When
he ran, I saw a flash of red that was more highlighted on a sunny day and this
dog was a sight to see: He looked ablaze.
In my life up to that
point, I’d never seen an Irish Setter much less been near one. Oh I’d seen a
lot of different dog breeds prior and would wind up having my first dog when my
sons were little on this hill for we got a purebred collie but not at the
start. Curiosity got the best of me and I followed this blazing red dog home
one day and found out that his name was Sham—short for Shamrock. He belonged to
a family up the street that had two daughters and a son.
It was a time when
there were no leash laws. Right next door to the where Sham lived was a huge
collie named Fritz; he too was a visitor in my house. But Sham was the one with the personality that
said “I will come in your house and I will make myself comfortable.” And that
he did. I’d find him lying on my couch with a non-care attitude looking as if
he belonged there. My young sons adored him and although I’m not quite sure
what my then-husband thought, Sham seemed to be my best buddy.
I had to nix that
idea really fast after finding out that my house was not the only house that
Sham inhabited while roaming during the day: He visited practically everyone on
the street and they let him. But oh when he was here it was as if I had a house
guest—albeit one with blazing red fur and four legs but he had manners. Good
dog manners. I would find out that one day those good manners would change and
become something that to this day, a lot of us remaining here still remember
with a huge laugh.
There were many young
couples on this street and upwards and many young children. Young children can
entice and also leave front doors open for they have the habit of going in and
out a gazillion times. Just ask any parent even today: It happens.
It was one young
family up the street from me that was composed of young parents and three
little children. I knew them all and was at their house a lot as were many
other young families. On a hot summer day, the young mother had fixed a huge
ham and set it on the kitchen counter. The aroma hung in the air and leaked
outside beckoning any ham lover to get nearer and nearer. Now no one knew this
for a while until everyone saw Sham running down the street with the entire ham
tucked in his mouth!
The aroma got to him
and there was no way he could help himself we all reasoned and especially that
young mother who was expecting to have a lovely ham dinner. Didn’t happen.
Where Sham took that
ham will remain a mystery to this day for no one saw him after he had it in his
mouth but one thing was certain: He had eaten it all. Whether it made him sick
or not is not known but he was roaming around the very next day as if nothing
had happened with a look on his face “I didn’t do a thing. Suspect me? No way.”
A couple of months
later we got our first dog and he was a collie named Rusty. Rusty got bigger
than thought and yet when Sham came to visit, there was no tension between the
two of them—Rusty would go his way in the house and Sham always sought my
living room couch. I would have loved to have known what Rusty really thought
but since I was and am not a “dog whisperer,” I will never know. They got
along.
For what seemed like
years but in essence must have been at least seven or so years, Sham lit up the
neighborhood with his blazing coat of fur as he ran up and down the
street. Everyone knew him and his name:
How could they not? He was magnificent with a streak of ornery in him.
It saddened his
owners far more than me when the word “divorce” was mentioned. I will never
forget the dad asking me if I’d take Sham and keep him. Having two young sons
and a dog quelled that idea in me but in retrospect, I regret it this day that
I didn’t take that dog. It would have worked out. I just couldn’t see it at
that point.
Sham did find a
home—in the country somewhere I was told—and for that I know the owners had to
be grateful and yet longed for him. I can only hope that they got to visit him
and that he lived out the rest of his life happy.
As for me, I will
never forget that flash of red on the hill ever: Sham was one of those dogs that crept into
your very soul and stayed there long after he left here. And he wasn’t even
mine. I missed him on my living room
couch, I missed his roaming and anytime anyone up here fixed a ham, well you
know who they thought about—the one and only Sham. There has never been an
Irish Setter here since him and I often wonder about that for I’ve seen all
breeds of dogs around but never that specific breed.
Sham was just plain
special and unforgettable. To this very day, I think of him and a smile washes
over my face: How lucky I was to have known my neighbor’s dog in such a way and
how lucky they were to have owned and shared him. He had the personality and
beauty and knew it. What a dog!
Sherry Hill
Published in the
Charleston [WV] Sunday Gazette-Mail
