...Our Special
Friends...
Our family has been
blessed with some special friends. Dogs have been in our family as far back as I
can remember. But there have been two that stood head and shoulders above the
pack. One was "Chopper", a German Shepard. This was taken sometime
around 1970. We are sitting at the top of the falls, now in my parents front
yard, fishing for creek chubs. He enjoyed watching a cork as much as anybody.
I was in the 4th
grade when my Dad brought him home. I remember that it was cold, raining, and I
had the mumps. He grew into one of those dogs that was "just another one of
the boys." He knew us and our habits as well as we knew his.
He would wake me up
most mornings, Mother would call me a time or two then would send Chopper to get
the job done. Usually a nudge or two would work, then a cold nose under the
cover would finish a good nights sleep.
One thing would
change his morning habits...and that was hunting season. This dog loved hunting as much as we
did. He was part of the hunt and would have a fit until we "loaded up"
well before daylight.
Chopper was also a
celebrity.
This is Chopper with
a good friend of his, Burl Womack (with the bow tie). This was on the set of his
WSAV TV show in Savannah, GA, when Burl had Chopper as a guest. Burl was the
best known radio host on the Georgia Coast. He had the morning show for WSAV
radio which is where Burl and Chopper got to be friends. Chopper listened to
Burl every morning as Mother was making breakfast.
Burl had a theme
song that he started every show with, and Chopper would "Howl along with
Burl".
He had other songs
that he liked, but most were played on Burl's show. Mother had the chance to
meet Burl when he came to our town to be the song leader at a county wide
revival held at the school auditorium. She told him he had a fan that was a
little out of the ordinary. Burl was amused by this and asked if he could bring
a tape recorder to her and have her record Chopper. The next day Burl came to
the house. Chopper was an excellent watchdog and not many visitors ever got out
of the car, but Burl knocked on the door. Chopper had to be held back at the
door while it was opened. Imagine this large Shepard straining at his collar and
barking...then Burl spoke...It changed Chopper's disposition immediately.
Chopper knew this voice as a friendly one, but it usually came from the counter
in the kitchen.
This was the start
of a long friendship that lasted many years after Chopper died. He was one of
Burl's most frequent guests, sometimes recorded and other times over the phone.
We can't think of
Chopper and not think of his radio and TV career and Burl! Chopper is one of the
standards by which all our dogs are gauged. And it's been a hard mountain to
climb for all his successors of which only one has been successful...
Our Best
Friends