He was a happy and gregarious pup. His original owner, Harry, did not want the dog, so he gave the pup
away. The recipient of Harry’s gift was Wally. Wally kept the pup for a short while before deciding that he
too could not handle the responsibility. So Wally managed to hoodwink an acquaintance of his named
James, and James became the newest owner of the unwanted pup.
James was not a bad person, but within a short time even he decided that the pup was more than he could
handle, so he found someone else who would give the pup a try. James gave the pup to Ralph, who took
the pup and attempted to give him a home. Alas, even Ralph found it difficult to keep the vagabond around
for very long. So Ralph looked about until he could find someone to take the pup, and eventually he did.
Robert became the dog’s new owner, and it was Robert who then undertook to provide a permanent home
for the dog. The dog. The poor, unwanted, unloved, un-cared for waif …, a vagabond not of his own
choosing. All the dog ever wanted was the same that all dogs everywhere want ..., a place to call home;
someone to love and in return be loved by; a place where he could live and be happy. It’s only what every
dog and every cat deserves. Even someone as forlorn as this little fellow, whose name we can never be
sure of, wanted and deserved to be loved, and if not loved …, at least given a place where he could live
and be happy. But once again he found himself on the move. His newest owner realized that even he
could not give the mutt the proper attention it deserved so once again the pup was given away.
Now Archie became the dog’s newest, latest, and at long last …, the dog’s last and permanent owner.
Finally, after having been passed around the little guy had a place that could be called a home. Archie, an
elderly man at the time, was only so glad to give the mutt a home. Archie lived on a farm in rural Ohio, and it
was on that farm that the little fellow we have been following found his forever home. Now he could run
and play and feel the wind and chase rabbits and roll in the grass. Now he had someone who would laugh
at his antics, fuss at his dalliances, and love him for what he was … one of God’s special creatures.
Archie managed to provide a home for the little guy for several years, and the previously unwanted mutt
managed to live out his days on Archie’s farm until he died of old age.
But who was this mutt? Who was this vagabond, this stray animal, this wastrel that no one seemed to
want? Of what significance was he that we would take the time here to tell his story? Of what significance
…, of what interest could talking about this little hound dog possibly be?
Well, let’s see if we can find out. Archie, the final owner of the mutt was actually the father of Robert who
had given him the dog in the first place. What do we know about Robert? Not much, other than that he was
a naval officer, holding the position of Chief Boatswain. Not much else is known about Robert.
Robert had been given the mutt by Ralph. And what do we know of Ralph? Once again, not much. Ralph
was also a naval officer, and he held the position of Damage Control Chief.
Ralph had been given the dog by George. So what do we know of George? Once again, it appears that we
know more about this unwanted and unappreciated vagabond mutt than we do of his previous owners.
George was himself a naval officer, his position being that of Quartermaster Chief. Not much else is known
about him.
George had received the dog from James. James we know a little bit more about. His name was James K.
Foskett, and he had been a naval aide just subsequent to WWII. Not much else is known about James other
than that he was an admiral in the navy.
James had been passed the dog from Wally. Wally died in 1996 at the age of 85. Wally was not in the navy,
no …, he had been in the army. For a while there it seemed as though a possible reason that no one
wanted the dog was because everyone involved was a navy man. One can see where a dog might not be a
very practical companion at sea. But here we have an army man who had rejected ownership of the dog.
So it is difficult to understand then why the mutt had such a difficult time of it finding a permanent home.
Wally had become possessor of our little unwanted stray dog when Harry made the decision to give him up.
So it all began with Harry. Harry was the original owner. Harry had given the pup to Wally, who gave the
pup to James, who gave the pup to George, who passed the dog on to Ralph, who surrendered the dog to
Robert, who then gave the dog to his father, Archie, who finally provided the dog a permanent home.
A happy ending for the little Tyke. And it was all he wanted. What did it matter to him that so many had
passed him on …, that so many had not wanted him? He was only a dog, and as a dog was not even aware
of what was happening. Undoubtedly, a dog has no idea of such things. But we do. Yes, we know. We
know who these people were. Oh, to be sure, we don’t know much about them. We’ve never before this
day heard of Archie, or his dad Robert, or of Ralph, or of George, or of James, or of Wally, or even Harry.
We’ve never heard of Harry before this day. Have we?
Harry. Who was Harry? Well, perhaps it might be of interest to note that Harry had a special relationship to
Wally. Wally, you see was an army man, but he was also a medical doctor. Wally was a physician, and he had
a very special position, for you see, Wally was the personal physician of Harry. Wally was the personal
physician of Harry and Harry’s wife, Bess. Surely you have heard of Harry and Bess: Harry and Bess Truman.
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Oak in my journal, or email me one of your own stories.
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