Signs From the Other World

Part 2. Homer

I like to make my family laugh when I say: We came here and got the starter kit: 10 acres, barn, farmhouse, creek, and a dog.

Our dog Homer is part German Shepherd, part Labrador. He was abandoned when his family moved away and left home; kind friends took him in and kept him until we came along. It seems that everybody I know here has pets, and it was love at first sight when Homer saw us. Mainly he is my husband's dog; in his priorities my husband comes first. When Michael, our son, is at home, he comes next. That leaves me last on Homer's list of people here, except that I've learned from living with him not to see that as an insult. I am different from the men but I'm not the lowest--the cats hold that place. I am a person, yes, but somebody to protect. Eventually I learned about Homer and his noble nature.

We have no neighbors, and when my husband was working as a salesman I was alone here sometimes. I have to be honest and say that I enjoy, from time to time, the quiet and the solitude. I love it here. However, when Peter was away Homer wouldn't go to sleep. I tried to make him lie down in his bed, but he'd stay there for an hour and then he'd be pacing up and down the hall, his nails making clicking noises on the floor as he walked. I thought he was lonely for Peter but eventually I learned something from a friend about dogs. With my husband away Homer saw himself as the protector of the home. He couldn't sleep because he needed to be outdoors, keeping watch for predators.

Homer isn't a "pet." The cats are the pets and Homer has allied himself with us, his human family.