The Birthdays Of Mukunda and Ulysses

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My Favorite Holiday

I love celebrating Mukunda and Ulysses' birthday. Muki's birthday is 1/10 and we got him on 3/7, near my own birthday. Ule's is 3/19 and we got him 5/15, on Tom, my husband's, birthday.

So now, we celebrate the whole of our birthdays from 1/1 to the end of May.

Then, summer begins and we celebrate great fortune in having the pleasure of each other's company until Fall, when we hangout in the river and enjoy nature.

Not to say that we stop all celebration in October and November, because the cool Autumn weather, and the dramatic short days and long nights of Winter bring to us a celebration of deep inner solitude, when the dogs sleep at my feet and follow me whereever I go.

The Story Of Muki 

Tom and I were married eleven years before we got Mukunda. We both were grieving dog losses that neither of us experienced together.

And in my humble opinion, we waited far too long to get another dog.

I waited 28 years and Tom waited 20.

We'd speak of getting another dog one day but the timing was never right.

One day, Tom took a group of his students to an outdoor market in Wilmington, Delaware.

They came across a window with golden puppies all sleeping, save one gray, red and black pup, mostly gray, who jumped up on the glass and barked and barked.

Tom recognized that as a signal from a dog who wanted HIM to claim him, and bring him home.

So Tom came home and told me about the pup. I felt a surge of energy and jumped up from my chair! "We must go get him immediately!!" I said.

But the market had already closed.

The next morning, Tom called the market and asked if the gray dog was still available for purchase.

He went to look and what felt like forever, came back and said, "I guess you could call him gray!"

We went to get him and thus, little Muki became the baby we never had.

When we tell this story to Mukunda, who has heard it time and time again, he listens intently, and then he barks, just like he did originally to get Tom's attention.

It worked that time.

And works every time!

Is Muki A Puppy Mill Dog? 

You could call Mukunda a puppy mill dog.

Lancaster County PA is known for having puppy mills and what this means is a country kennel with many breeds of dogs who are raised in crowded, badly attended conditions.

Pet stores that sell puppies are considered to be puppy mills.

But if it wasn't for that particular city market, we would not have Mukunda, now. So, in a sense, Muki is a rescue dog who lucked out and is now living The Good Life.

Ulysses came from entirely different circumstances. He was born on a farm to a beautiful and well loved Golden Retriever. His father was a famous show dog whose name escapes me, now. My student at the time raised Border Terriers, and lived across the road.

Tom was not sure at all about this idea. But I was certain that Mukunda would love to have a brother.

The day we went to look at the litter, I found out that one of the children picked out Ule and snuggled him at night. This was a good sign and meant he was already in tune with humans. Little humans, at that!

All the females were taken but Ule and a couple of his brothers.

One of the pups was pure red, and liked me, but had an annoying habit of continuously biting me. So I figured Ule, the mellow dude, and already well on the way to being socialized, was the One.

Mukunda Had His Own Opinion 

Muki was traumatized by this idea. It was OK to go and look at the dogs, but when we brought the pup to the car, Muki was mortified.

He would not look at me for three days.

On the third day, I was taking both dogs for a walk in downtown Lancaster with my friend, Marie. I was telling her that I may have to take Ule back because Muki continued to ignore me.

I sat on a park bench, thoroughly despondent by the whole situation.

At that exact moment, Muki leaped upon my lap, snuggled and licked my cheek.

From then on out, the two of them have been BROS.

The Dog Family 

Over the years, from the time I lived on the commune, we'd discuss the dog family, meaning all of the dogs we ever had over an entire lifetime.

These dogs are our Guardian Angels. The dogs who accompanied us across the country and Canada back in 1970 were saving us left and right from ill-fated disasters.

One dog in particular was called Geraldine Boop-A-Doop, a Beagle, Collie, German Shepard mix, who lived to be 18 because of her great ability to survive.

Muki looks just like Boop when his head is wet.

One time in particular, Boop averted a long jail sentence in Alberta, Canada.

Boop--Leader Of The Free World 

We were traveling by caravan across Canada, with 15 dogs, all in various stages of maturity, and Boop was not only a member of the pack but dare I say, she was also the leader (of the pack!)

My brother and his wife, my sister and her future husband, a few of their friends and a few of mine, were all part of this entourage.

One night, we were stopped by Mounted Policemen who were checking every car for rats (in grain) going from Alberta to Saskatchewan.

I was driving without a license. We also had marijuana in the panals of the truck.

This was not cool because I temporarily forgot how to downshift the truck and almost knocked over a Mounted Policeman on my way to stopping the vehicle.

When the police found a marijuana cigarette, the fact I did not have a license seemed to lose all significance or importance.

We were taken to jail for the night, which caused a whole series of worries: Not only the panals packed with marijuana, but what about all the dogs???

A Compassionate Policeman 

I cleaned up this story because of the subject of illegal drugs.

However, when we were unexpectedly taken to a room with a group of Mounted Policeman, we all noticed that the head Honcho had his arms bandaged from wrist to forearm, all the way to the elbows.

He said, "As we were impounding your dogs, we were also trying to to capture a little Beagle mix who just would not cooperate. When I picked her up, this is what happened," he said, pointing to his arms.

"I used to train German Shepard dogs, so I understand she was trying to protect her home. We called off the search of your trucks, so I could get emergency treatment."

The Famous Boop and Her Doting Mistress 

The dog family consists of every dog who has ever lived: Ancestrial Dogs, Family Dogs, Wild Dogs, Young and Old.

They serve the function of relaxing, healing and making us whole again.

So yes, I celebrate the birthday of every dog I have ever known. Boops birthday was 8/19 and we'd always cook her spaghetti. Muki and Ule like steak or chicken but never eat dog food. Dog food is a No-No in my household! We cook them a meal from organic ingredients every few days.

Boop never ate dog food because she refused to. People food was exactly what she always got, because whatever Boop wanted, Boop got.

Because she saved our lives that day.

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