They say that every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mom willing to let him to have one.
On Kyle’s 6th birthday, I gave in and we welcomed Gunner, a Boxer, into our family. For a 6 week old puppy, he was a fast learner. Potty training was easily mastered and we only lost a remote control, a couple rolls of toilet paper and a teenager’s retainer to the teething process.
Gunner quickly learned that “bye-bye” meant we were going to pick kids up from school. He would pace back and forth in the bed of the truck and as soon as he laid eyes on his boy, the butt wagging, dancing and whimpering would ensue.
The two were inseparable, from shared meals to shared naps to shared baths. Gunner was at Kyle’s side as he learned sight words and addition. He was there when Kyle learned to throw a football, scuba dive and shave.
He has celebrated victories and shared in the heartaches that adolescence brings. By the time Kyle started driving, Gunner still had the “want” to go but he no longer had the ability to jump onto the tailgate. The years have slowly taken his sight, his hearing and his mobility.
Kyle still takes him “bye-bye” but now loads him into the cab. He prefers the air conditioner over riding in the bed because the wind is too much for his gray, weathered face.
On May 14, 2020, Gunner made an exception. He rode in the back of the truck, with his boy, as they graduated high school. He held his head high as he watched the Davenport community show their support for the kid he worked so hard to raise.
Senior year has brought a multitude of disappointments. No prom, no banquets, no senior trip.
It also brought us an unconventional graduation.
A graduation in which a boy was able to ride in the back of a truck...with his dog.