Âme Sweet Âme

                                                                    Next to my childhood home was an albino husky (I think ?) named Sniff. It was my grandfather's dog. I didn't play much with him but I remember how impressed I was to see his gentleness when sister, then a toddler, was sitting next to him, her legs under his body. I remember feeling sad when he died. Then, my maternal grandparents had a Dalmatian, Kafka, who used to sit behind the old woodstove. Apparently someone killed her with a gun. How disturbing to hear something so gratuitous and cruel.  Then my paternal aunt had a blond lab, Bill. He was adorable. I remember him as a puppy. When he was older, he got hit by a car. All those relatives never had one after that. When my siblings and I had all left the nest, we ...