My Dog - Chips

There seemed to be a lot less rules when I was 10.
Take my dog Chips for example. He was a boxer and he pretty well sums up the era of our neighborhood when I was 10. He was the king of the neighborhood. You would simply open in the door in the morning, and out he went, (much like me and my buddies) and away he went.
We were never 100% sure of what he was up to, but there were numerous sightings throughout the day. He would have his favorite spots. My mom would get calls from people down the road where he would visit for snacks. He would always come home (eventually) – unless of course he got hit by a car. That happened three times…well two and a half, the one time was just the Milk Truck backing over his head, as he was biting the tires, like he enjoyed doing, it was ok, a bloody nose, he shook it off.
He protected that yard of ours better than most countries protect their borders. Kids were always allowed and welcome, he had no problems with kids, it was other four legged creatures that were his issue. Squirrels gave him high blood pressure, he shook when he saw them, he chased every single squirrel he ever laid his eyes on, the closest he ever got was a tail, he did get one tail. It was a proud day. Dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks, 4 legs, “you come on my property, you deal with me” that was his motto. He needed to protect his family, and that he did. He was the toughest guy you would ever meet, the problem is he didn’t win many fights, they call them boxers because the use their paws a lot, they have kind of a square jaw, not great for fighting, he had more stitches than you can imagine, we kept the vet busy.
Chips was care free, no stress, had to answer to no one. When I was a kid, I think life really was a lot simpler, and certainly seemed to be less stress.

Next - Our bikes.