At the beginning of the war, my husband enlisted in the Marine Corp. He worked for the Office of War Information as a publicity photographer. The United States were building ships for the war effort with great speed in the States of Massachusets and Maine. He was sent to observe, take pictures and send back progress reports.

We were living in Washington D.C. at that time. I worked as a stenographer. We spoke on the phone frequently, but that did not help me much. I was very lonesome. In one of our conversations, I mentioned that I would love to have a little dog for company. I added, not a tiny one please, I don’t want a lap dog. He reassured me, I would be happy with his choice.

The day of his return came. I heard his whistle, our special greeting, from far away. I ran to the door to open it. Instead of my husband putting his arms around me in a welcoming hug, I giant four legged creature jumped up on me to lick my face. I almost toppled backwards. It was a beautiful St. Bernard dog. Certainly not the lap dog I had feared! He is only a baby, my husband assured me, and very lovable...

Well, this truly lovable baby giant had become very attached to my husband on the trip and wanted to go to bed with us. We finally persuaded him to sleep underneath the bed, which was not a good idea either because he moved our mattress up and down and panted and perspired all night.

Washington at that time did not know about air conditioning. If you wanted to sleep at night you would go down to the Potomac river to be eaten up by mosquitos. Life certainly was not easy for a dog who is accustomed to cool climates.

Another difficulty was his food. We were living on meat rations and he could gulp down a week’s ration in a minute. I convinced my desolate husband that this had been a bad move. We had to find a good home for him.

Luck was with me. Many people had observed my struggle for control when I took him
out for a walk. He really was a beautiful pedigree dog and he had stolen my heart as well. A man approached me and asked if we were willing to sell the dog. He had children and a beautiful home in the country and plenty of money to feed him. He would have a perfect home.

As far as paying for the dog, we came to a great deal. He made furniture and he would make me a special piece in trade. What would I like? I needed a three piece sectional couch and I got it. He got our beautiful big surprise and both of us cried when he was taken to his new home

© Gerta Freeman - July 7, 2012