The best dog in the world

....Augustus McCrae. Better known as Gus in the house.

Gus came into my life when I was a senior in college. I had moved into a house with two girls who both had boyfriends and wouldn't be around much. So of course I needed a dog. The answer to all my fears of staying a lone in the house. One roommate already had a dog that was old and crabby. The rule was my dog had to get along with Dixie.

I searched and searched. Read every ad in the paper for the perfect dog. Then I came across an ad for a red heeler. My aunt and uncle have a red heeler named Nellie who is the best dog ever and I wanted one just like her. My roommate and I went to a house that was billed as a 'rescue.' There were 40+ dogs. The lady brought two dogs out, one was a black mangy dog and the other was not a red heeler, though he was red. The black mangy dog would not leave Dixie alone. I thought Dixie was going to have a heart attack. The not red heeler couldn't have cared less that Dixie was there. He sat in front of me for pets and wouldn't move. I was sold. The lady put a tick collar on him and sent us on our way.

The name debate went on for awhile. The Actor wanted to give him a Russian name. I wanted to call him Hank or Red, but the Therapist prevailed. She knew my love for the movie Lonsome Dove and the character Gus. She knew I had that name in reserve for a future child. She convinced me that no child should ever be saddled with that name, and thus the not red heeler became Gus.

Gus learned his manners in a household of 3 girls, various friends coming in and out, and the Actor. I don't know how that combination made Gus the best dog in the world, but it did. He was my shadow. Where I stood he too tried to occupy the space. Other than the week I went to Florida for Spring Break and the 6 months he had to live with my parents, which gave him horrible separation anxiety, he hasn't been away from my side for longer than a day or two.

We survived 6 moves, the addition of a boyfriend that turned into a husband, two other dogs being added to the household and multiple disagreements on his proper sleeping spot (he thought the bed and I thought the floor. I only won on the nights he decided to give in).

Gus left me a week ago to go to a place where he will always have a bed, not have to deal with being bothered by other dogs, and all the french fries he can eat. I miss Gus every moment I'm awake but find happiness in each memory that surfaces. He is the best dog I've ever had and will ever have. I don't think I will ever have one that is as devoted to me as he was.

Rest in peace my good friend. I miss you and love you.