One of my favorite characters in the Little House books is Jack, the brindle bulldog, Laura’s loyal friend and companion through the first 3 books. Even though Laura is surrounded by a loving family, there are times when it seems like Jack is the only one that truly understands her. Having been blessed with a couple of canine soulmates in my time, I nod my head in understanding every time a special look passes between Jack and Laura and I still tear up when I read about Jack’s passing at the beginning of By the Shores of Silver Lake…truth be told, I still haven’t forgiven Pa for not letting Jack ride on the wagon when they crossed the river in Little House on the Prairie.
I don’t know how long Jack really lived with the family or whether little Laura really had a special relationship with her bulldog but it’s no surprise to find out that Laura loved dogs and that several became members of her family when she was an adult. She writes about Shep and Inky in Ruralist articles, drawing life lessons from the actions of her dogs. My favorite passages in West From Home (letters from Laura to Almanzo while on a trip to San Francisco in 1915) are the ones where she seems to be just as concerned about Inky’s health as she is about Almanzo’s. Anyone eavesdropping on phone conversations between my husband and me when one of us is traveling would hear similar concerns about Jasper, our beloved 13 year old Golden Retriever.
Recently I had a chance to read notes Laura kept on a trip she took to South Dakota with Almanzo in 1931. They brought along Nero, their Airedale, and a good portion of Laura’s notes had to do with how Nero felt about the trip. Apparently he was not fond of Kansas and he really didn’t enjoy the heat and wind of the South Dakota summer. Nero also got nervous when Almanzo drove in traffic; clearly he was a dog of discernment. He ate well on the journey, Laura writes about Nero’s meals of hamburgers and snacks of ice cream when the heat got to be too much. It sounds to me like Nero had himself a dandy time on the trip. My Jasper is the veteran of several cross-country road trips but he rarely eats when traveling so I’m amazed at the amount (and variety) of food that Nero seems to have put away.
It amuses me that Laura wrote so much about Nero’s experiences on the South Dakota trip but it also reminds me of why I love her so. My dogs have been a big part of my life. I know what it’s like to love a dog as much as any other member of my family and Laura did too. I always knew we were kindred spirits.