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Getting to know Sister

My Uncle Cliff and Aunt Ruby lived in Atlanta and Cliff owned and operated a gas station. I was working at night and would help out at the station during the day and on weekends. Aunt Ruby wanted me to move in with them and I was glad to have a place to live. I was still struggling to try to keep up with child support payments and pay my own rent, so the invitation was greatly appreciated and I moved in.

My Uncle and Aunt loved animals and always had one or two dogs in the house. Cliff had a knack for training all his dogs to do just about any trick you could think of and made them extra protective of my Aunt. You didn't want to raise your hand toward her unless you wanted to be one hand short. When I moved in, they had a big Boxer named Sister that they simply called "Sis." Cliff would raise his arm and pretend to strike Ruby and Sis would go crazy trying to grab his arm. She knew that with him it was only a game he was playing so she just went along with it.

They didn't have any children of their own, so Sis was their baby. I had developed a certain amount of distrust and some fear of dogs because of an encounter with a neighbor dog when I was quite young. The thought of me coming home late at night and the house being dark made me very uneasy. I wondered if Sis would let me come in without tearing me apart. I had done my best to get acquainted with her in hopes she would recognize who it was and allow me in.

The first time I came home late the house was totally dark and I became anxious about entering. I put my key in the door, expecting to hear loud barking, at which my plan was to speak gently to her hoping for recognition. Nothing was heard. Dead silence. I could distinguish the outline of the furniture so I followed the outline and walked quietly through the living room toward my bedroom. I breathed a sigh of relief when I got just outside the door and relaxed my shoulders that I had been holding stiff. As I reached for the doorknob with my right hand, I felt a wet tongue licking my left hand and I almost did what I was afraid I would do in such a case, if you know what I mean. I managed to reach inside and turn on the bedroom light and there was Sis standing beside me with her short stub of a tail just wagging away. I swear she was smiling at me. From then on we were best friends and she would meet me at the door when I came home.

My uncle had taught her to bring him the leash when she wanted to go for a walk. She would try him first, and if that didn't work she would come over to me. I wasn't sure if she would take no for an answer, so I usually found myself out on the street with her. She was the gentlest dog you could imagine, but the other dogs didn't know that so they stayed far away. She would always accompany my Aunt when she answered the door and just sit there looking up at the caller.

I moved away later on but managed to get back to see Sis once in a while. Of course, she had to wash my face with her tongue each time. I really missed her.

Learn more about this author, Sylvester Pierpoint (aka John Jeffries).
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