A Dog Named Punk...and he was one!

My first dog was in 1967 and he was named Punk. We got him around Halloween and I named him Pumpkin, but I was too young to pronounce it. So the shortened version was Punk...and he was one.

It was different then...no doggy daycare, no leash walking. He was free range and followed my brother and I everywhere. At feeding time, my Dad would whistle and a few minutes later, he would trot up, wagging his tail and ready to eat.

He barked at the night, constantly sniffed with that big snout, caught fist sized rocks like they were tennis balls, and jumped into the local Country Club pool.

Punk has his share of bad behaviors. He loved to chase cars and he got pretty close to biting the back tires. Mopeds became the in thing and if it had a motor, Punk chased it. At the time, it was pretty funny watching the neighbor kids trying to get away from him. He certainly scared them, but never bit anyone.

He was a huge bully too. I had to break up a few dog fights. He was the neighborhood King, very territorial and he easily offended. Once, we crossed the highway and entered into a new neighborhood. He took on a gang of dogs - a Great Dane, Rat Terrier, a Lab and a couple ugly mutts. As he would go after one dog, another dog would nip at his rear. We quickly exited that scene. One night, Punk came home with bloody lacerations and punctures, and part of his intestines were hanging out. It really freaked out my Mom. He got beat up bad!

Punk would occasionally leave for a couple days and he'd bring back his girlfriend. (I was just a little boy...I know now about the benefits of neutering and am a proponent!). Near our house, someone abandoned a young puppy who looked like him and we took her in and named her Sassy. I'm sure he fathered a couple litters.

All the kids loved him, some neighbors hated him and threatened to shoot him, but they didn't! Yet, the close neighbors never complained, he was the community watch dog.

Punk was loyal, loving and obedient - most of the time. Punk lived to a ripe old age of 15 years old...blind, arthritic and deaf. He lived the good life!

The only surviving photo of Punk: