Day 320- Kafka

The first major commitment Doug and I made to each other was getting a dog.

I think this happened less than 3 months after our initial meeting, and before we lived together.

Kafka (remember I was an English Lit major), was half German Shepard, half Lab.

He was a spectacular dog.  He lived in California, New York, and Portland.

When we lived in New York, Kafka was lucky enough to spend his weekends "Upstate" where Doug's parents owned 300 acres.  It was a long drive in the car, but the second we would pull off the highway he would begin whining.

After about 10 minutes of an incessant dog cry we would break down and simply open the door to the car, let him out, and floor it.

Kafka would run the next few miles to the house.

If you swam in the pond on the land, you were subjected to his countless rescue attempts.  He would swim out to wherever you were, and try to get you to grab his tail in order to pull you back in.

He is also a legend at the Portland Airport.

When we made the move from New York to Portland Kafka flew on the same plane we did.  While I am sure he would have preferred a seat, it seems there are rules against a 100lb dog stretching out in first class.

We could hear him barking as they put him on the plane, and every once in a while as we were flying.

Once we were at the gate the pilot came on the intercom and asked, "whoever was traveling with their dog, please let yourself be known as you get off the plane."

I immediately panicked.  I could only assume the worst.

And it just so happened we were in the last row of the plane, so it took forever to get to a flight attendant.

When we finally got there, the captain and crew were just shaking their heads and laughing.

Somehow Kafka had chewed a hole in his crate, and somewhere over Chicago/Denver/Oregon got out.

The baggage handlers opened the belly of the plane and were met with a large, barking dog.

Doug had to go up on lift in order to grab him and carry him out of the plane.

He was about 12 years old when Graham was born, very old for a dog that size.  A few months later we knew it was time to let him go.

It had been just the 3 from the beginning.

Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things we ever had to do.

I am just glad everyone who got to know him, got to know him.

He was legendary.