When Ruby Runs Out of Stories…

Sanya © Ruby Daniel (sometime in Sanya's lifetime)
Sanya

© Ruby Daniel
(sometime in Sanya’s lifetime)

You noticed “Ruby” in the header, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here. My stats go waaaaay up when I post about Ruby. You should have seen the look on her face when I told her that the other week. Grinning to beat the band, she was.

And then she told me she didn’t think she had any more stories in her. I told her I didn’t believe her, but she insisted that, rack her brains as she might, she couldn’t think of anything she hadn’t already told me.

We went back to the crossword, both a little depressed.

Me, befuddled: What’s a 7-letter word for a “cream-coloured dog?”

Ruby, in the blink of an eye: Samoyed.

Me: How the heck do you know that?!

I had one. We called her Sanya. She just showed up on the doorstep one night. She was one big mess. She sure wasn’t cream-coloured that night, let me tell you.

Me: See?! There’s a story right there!

Bah! About a dirty ol’ stray dog? No, she wasn’t much. Well, I guess she was a good dog, alright; I sure thought a lot of her, I guess. You wouldn’t believe the life of that dog! One day she got into antifreeze in the garage and darn near poisoned herself to death. That was the only time I took a dog to the vet, I thought that much of her.

She couldn’t even stand up, and we had to carry her to the car. All the way there, I figured we was bringing a dead dog to the doctor. She hung on, though; cost us a fortune in room and board while they fixed her up. Finally, we took her home on account of she didn’t seem to be getting any better, and the vet said there was no point in having her spayed, because even if she came around, she’d never have puppies anyway, on account of what that antifreeze did to her…

Anyway, when we got her home, we hefted her up on the couch and the next day she ate a little, and got herself back up on the couch. Day after that, she ate a lot more and got herself up and down. One more day, and you’d never know she’d been sick.

After that, she got real nice, always wanting to hang around at my feet, and snuggly-like. She’d spend her days out in the yard, tied to her dog house, and come in and sit with me in the evenings. She was a right nice dog, Sanya was.

One day though, I looked out the kitchen window, and there that dog was, sittin’ out in the pouring rain! Wouldn’t go in her house to save her skin. I thought, ‘Now what’s got into that stupid dog?’, and I went out to find out. She wouldn’t go in that dog house no way, no how. She just sat there in the pouring rain, crying.

Finally, I figured there must be something in her house, so I stuck my head in and you wouldn’t believe what was in there!

The dog house was in a little dip in the yard, and the rain had all seeped in and made a great big puddle… and there in the puddle was five puppies. Drowned.

Well!

I felt about as miserable as poor ol’ Sanya looked, let me tell you, and she looked as miserable as a wet dog can. That’s pretty miserable. I got her into the house and dried her all off. She just looked depressed, I tell you, and I felt guilty as sin. I let her up on my bed, that’s how guilty I felt.

She stayed in there for the rest of the day, and when she didn’t come out for her supper, I got some nervous. When I went to check on her, I was sure she was dead. She wasn’t though. She was nursing a puppy!

That was a cute little pup, but I didn’t want two dogs, so I found a good home for the little one when the time came. Sanya didn’t like that, I don’t think. She started breaking her chain and taking off. Every time she’d come home, she’d have a face full of porcupine quills.

You ever have to take the quills out of a dog’s face? Nasty job. Hard on the dog, too. You’d think she’d have learned, but nope. Two days later, she’d be gone again, and come back with another face full.

Finally, we decided to put her down. She just wouldn’t learn. There was some happy porcupines after that, I’ll bet.

Anyway… Sanya was a cream-coloured Samoyed. Write that down.

Random Song for the Day: “Palm Of Your Hand” – Cake

[signoff]

8 Replies to “When Ruby Runs Out of Stories…”

  1. Waaaaaah! I LOVED that story, right up until the ending! Oh, I know…that’s how dogs were dealt with in the ‘olden days.’ Roaming was the worst trait a dog could have, especially in farming areas. My sister-in-law tells the story of the very best dog they ever had. It ran off one day, and returned an entire year later. The whole family was thrilled to have it back…and then her dad shot it! Because, you see, you just can’t have a dog that roams. Terrible!

    I like it better now that dogs are members of our families. And by “our” I mean “not mine,” because the referee won’t let me have one!

    Les Says:
    Well, Ruby didn’t have Sanya shot, honest. She had her euthanized. Well, that’s what she told ME…

  2. Oh, that’s a sad Ruby story.

    Les Says: I KNOW! I hope she gets a little more cheery with them. I’m hoping to see her again soon, and I’ll try to steer the conversation round to ‘happier’ things.

  3. I bet you could do word association for ten minutes with Ruby and have three novels write themselves.

    Les Says: Oooh! See, this is why I keep you so close, Cardiogirl – you’re the “Ideas Man”. I’ll see how that works.

  4. That was so sad! The poor little dog…and the puppies and then the ending…My dog was put down recently so I might be a little oversensitive but that makes me wana cry. I am a bit of a wuss though. :/

    Les Says:
    Welcome to Where the Walls are Soft, Claire! It was a sad story, wasn’t it? Ruby usually goes for the “funny”, but this time she threw me a curve.

    I’m so sorry to hear of the loss of your own dog – and no; I wouldn’t consider you being upset over that to be “oversensitive” in the least.

  5. Thanks Les 🙂

    I don’t know what it is, maybe cos it seems like it was said so matter of factly, you know, like there was no other option or choice, that was it for the dog, it just seemed so sad…

    Les Says: I’m not sure exactly when this happened – I’m thinking some time in the 50’s or 60’s based on where Ruby was living at the time – but I don’t imagine there WAS any other option back then, unfortunately.

  6. Great story. I was right there. You make me want to bust out with a few things. Maybe some day, if I have the time. The drowned puppies had me. I was feelin’ it. My vets got a picture of a big dog with a face full of quills. Sad lookin’ thing.

    Les Says: Hey, whatever gets you writing. Bust away, Hairy!

  7. Well there you go. You learn something new everyday. If I ever get back into crosswords [maybe in my next life] I will have squirreled that away. I still don’t really get the hook of ruby though.

    Cheers

    Les Says: I think I know what’s missing for you. “Ruby” (my Real-Life Landlady) once told me a story about a time when she ended up handcuffed to a drunk. I asked permission to fictionalize it on my blog. She agreed, provided I change all the names.

    The real story was rather uneventful. “Ruby’s” story is not. Parts 1-4 of 5 installments of “The Waitress, the Whiskey and the Handcuffs” were originally posted here, until I decided to try and sell it, and once it’s polished (and published), I will re-post all the parts as well as the final one.

    That’s where my “regulars” got addicted – when I made them wait for the next installment… and the next… and so on. When I took the chapters down (without giving anybody the final one – geez I’m MEAN!), to appease them, I started telling her stories in her own voice when I could, with little or no changes. If I ever change things, I let that be known in the post.

    I hope over time, that Ruby “hooks” you, too. And that I sell “The Waitress” soon enough that I can repost the whole story and not lose the interest of my regular blog-buddies. I have had so much fun writing it.

  8. Well, I wanted me a Ruby fix, but that one about got me!

    That women is a gold mine of untold stories, or is it that Les can just make a good story out of the simplest of things. My money is on you!

    Give Ruby all my love…tell her I’m still waitin’ on that picture. A woman like that ought to be remembered.

    Thanks Les…for filling me up tonight…no wait…it’s morning!

    Les Says: You know – I TOLD her that last night over coffee! I said, “Ruby, your Sanya story made the whole internet cry.”

    And she LAUGHED. I will certainly pass on your love – I know she will blush and giggle and make a bad attempt at pretending not to care. And I’ll try for a pic, but I don’t think I’ll have much luck. She practically dives under the table when she sees my camera. I will hit her with “she ought to be remembered”, though – maybe that will help.

    And welcome back! And good morning!

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