My earliest memories are hard to talk about. I know little about my mom and do remember my brothers and sisters always on the move, running from someone, everyone… looking for water and something to eat. One by one they disappeared and I was alone. Food and water was hard to find, it was very cold… February in Indiana and I had no home. I rarely slept, always on the move. One day, my luck and world would change.
It all started the day I was startled awake by the trash truck and ran from the alley. I remember suddenly being in the middle of a big road with cars zooming past on each side of me, horns blowing. I remember bright lights just behind me, staying behind me. And then suddenly I was surrounded by cars, in every direction, more horns and I froze, scared. Cars screeched and honked and it all grew louder and I couldn’t move.
A big white sedan rolled right beside me very slowly and stopped. More horns. I was so scared I couldn’t move… I was shaking violently. The car was blocking traffic. I wanted to run, knew I had to run but could not move. The car door opened and I heard a voice…something about the voice…I did not run. A man bent down and spoke to me, “it’s going to be alright” and I knew it was. He scooped me up and put me in the car. My world changed in an instant and my life was forever changed.
I would soon meet a doctor for dogs, a veterinarian…this is good and bad…they fixed me up, I heard I was in bad shape and the shots…well nobody likes shots.
He took me home. Yup, a home…house, yard, the whole deal, and there was another dog there. He would become my best friend and teacher…making me a better dog. His name was Chase. He was a Hollywood handsome Rottweiler and so cool. He had a lot of friends…neighbor dogs and dogs in the park. I’ll talk about this later. Chase grew very old and is gone now and I miss him very much. He made me a better dog.
Moving to DC
My life took another big turn when we moved from Indiana and our house with a yard to Washington, DC.
WOW, what a change…people everywhere, cars, trucks, traffic, noise, dust and NO YARD. My whole world turned upside down. My outside life was on a leash…a scary lesson I learned…it was for my own good and safety. I’ll talk about this later too. I missed my yard so much.
I met new friends, most like me, nobody had a yard. One of my best buddies, Max, has a great yard. I am so jealous. Max is cool, we have something in common…we are both rescued dogs. Max is fast. I mean really fast. Even with the coat he has to wear in the winter he is fast. He used to run professionally. He is a Greyhound. Love to hang out at Max’s place because we can run and play and just lay around in the yard without our leashes.
Another of my best friends is Batch. Batch lives just down the street and is like me, he goes to work every day too. Batch hangs out at a big downtown, lighting store that his guy owns. Like me Batch doesn’t have a yard in Washington, DC but he does get to go out in the country on weekends where he has a HUGE yard, actually it’s a farm…with chickens, the whole nine yards and they all get along and just hang out.
I still get back to Indiana, we travel a lot and I get to keep up with our family out there. My guy’s family all have dogs. Everybody has dogs. It’s like a big family reunion when we all get together. We usually stay with his sister and she has four dogs and three are rescue dogs like me. They have a great yard too and this is the part I miss about Indiana. Omega and I are closest, she is a German shepherd and we get to go places together.
Going back and forth between Washington, DC and Indiana, I learned there is a big difference between having a yard and not having a yard. The yards are always cool even on hot days and great for play and lying around. The pavement and sidewalks are never cool on hot days. The city seemed dusty and louder. When it rains in the city the water runs off the walks and streets and just disappears into the gutter but with the yards the rain seems to stay put. The yard gets wet and cool. Then it HIT me, there is a big difference between our yards and the hard spaces and it got me thinking.
Lucky at the Office
Well, my guy works in Washington, DC with Congressmen and Senators and other government people about issues that he is working on. One of them is climate change and we all have to learn about it because it’s affecting the whole world. I learned that green plants absorb and store carbon dioxide and give off oxygen which is a good thing. We need oxygen to breathe and we need to get rid of more carbon dioxide to help with climate change. I learned that grass and trees really absorb and store carbon dioxide.
I am one lucky dog, that what my guy’s assistant said when she met me and the name stuck, Lucky. I know I have a great life and I want to give back, do something to help others.
What I’ve Learned
I’ve learned we have environmental problems where we live and that we can do something to improve our world. I want to help. We need more green, living plants in our world to help with climate change, keep down the dust, grab the rain and help cool the cities…really…we need more green spaces in the city, trust me.
I can’t do it alone, but as Turfmutt we can do it together. Yup, I’m Turfmutt when I’m working and it’s my job. We have to learn about green spaces and everybody with a yard can do their part to help our environment. We can work with our yards to make them better. We have to learn to use water wisely, this is very important.
Help me tackle the bad guys…Heatfreak, he causes the heat problems in our big cities; Dust Demon, he causes all the dust and dirt blowing around because we don’t have plants to grab it; Carbon Creep, he’s the problem with climate change and Dr. Runoff, he causes all the rain to escape into the sewers and drains because there are not enough plants and grass to catch it all.
If we all do our part, we can win and make our world better place to live and play.
