The Dog of Steel

A dog that swims 5 miles through shark-filled seas and survives on baby island goats. I had a dog like that once -- except he wasn't named after an singing comedian. We called him 'Tex', the name of my mother's dog when she was a kid. Our Tex looked like Superman's dog Krypto and was about as strong.

On a regular basis he would tear loose any ropes or chains we'd hooked him to, jump the backyard fence, and vanish for a week. Once he jumped it while trailing a chain hooked to one of those augers that twist into the ground. No device however ingenious could hold Tex when he longed for freedom. When he finally straggled back from whatever escapades he'd been engaged in, he never looked starved but was totally exhausted. If there were any baby goats to eat I'm sure Tex devoured his share.

Unlike Sophie Tucker, Tex never got mean -- except once when he bit the postman on the butt. But that was because he felt the guy was threatening my mother. When she defended her courageous but impulsive canine in small claims court the judge laughed himself silly and ruled in favor of Tex. On those rare occasions when we managed to track him down after he'd busted out of the backyard we would find him happily playing catch with a crowd of kids.

We had to leave Tex there in Pocatello, Idaho with an old man when we moved to Michigan. If you live in Pocatello and have a smart, powerful, white mutt it may just be one of his descendents.