Lauren was 13 when she ‘informed’ me that she was keeping it.  The ‘it’ was the tiny black puppy in her purse. She had traded her Further Festival concert ticket for the dog. Since I had been reassured by Eryn’s mother (not) that Lauren was going to a movie  with a nice group of girls and then coming back to the house for a sleepover, I was adamant that the dog was going right back to the hippies in the parking lot after the concert was over (at 3:00 am). When we drove there the next morning, we were confronted with an empty parking lot; the dog was apparently staying. That was the first of Calvin's nine lives and the beginning of Lauren’s relationship with a remarkable dog.

Calvin was two weeks old when Lauren got him. She managed to feed him so he didn't stress out and die. He just latched on to her and she happily reciprocated. Calvin’s second life.

Little dog who has to pee + 18 inches of snow + whiteout conditions = a missing Calvin.  Twenty minutes later Lauren caught sight of something black in the middle of all that white. Not freezing = Calvin’s third life.

My lovely daughter, who is a mother herself now, was a terror of a teenager and not overly preoccupied with safety. Calvin, being a good son, followed his mommy’s lead. His fourth life began after he ate a battery.

When Lauren went to college, Calvin did too. After classes or instead of classes, Lauren and Calvin often hung out with Eryn in her garden level apartment. It had an enclosed deck off the living room that Calvin came to love. He would take a running start at the front door, race through the living room and jump over the deck. He grcefuly sailed three feet through the air and happily landed on his feet. After a month of visiting Eryn’s garden level apartment, Lauren and Calvin moved into an identical apartment on the third floor. As she was bringing boxes in, Calvin thought, ‘I know this place,’ took a running start and jumped over the much higher deck. After she carried him back to the apartment, Lauren called me; she was hysterical. I told her to take him to the vet, not to worry about the money, and to call me from there.   While I waited for the next call, I checked my pathetic little stock portfolio and realized I’d have to take out a second mortgage to keep this dog alive.  When the phone rang an hour later, I went into an altered state to prepare myself for an astronomical vet bill. Lauren still sounded shaky when she said he was okay – he broke a tooth and the vet said he’d be sore for a while  - that was it. I almost cried with relief.   The steeplechase incident was number five.  

A hot summer day hanging out down by the river.  Calvin began his sixth life after he jumped into the Colorado River and was quickly on his way to the Grand Canyon. Lauren got to him and pulled him out.

Calvin was staying with my sister one weekend. Her home was often chaotic with two teenagers with sibling rivalry issues, their two dogs who referee the fights by barking, a blaring TV and, frequent screams to answer the phone. A loving and loud household.  A stressed Calvin dropped a load on a pillow next to my brother-in-law who was still sleeping. As the odor perfumed the air, Greg stirred and rolled over on to the pooped-pillow.  Calvin escaped Greg’s germ-phobic rage to go on to his seventh life.

Another weekend that Calvin stayed with my sister, he bit my niece when she was trying to ride him like a rodeo bull and the other two dogs were wildly barking at them. I have a thing about dogs that bite because a dog bit my son in the face when he was three. I talked to a vet before I flew home, worried that he would become a biter. She said it was possible. I called Lauren and we very reluctantly agreed he should be put down. I cried on the plane and in the car and when I got to the kennel where my sister had taken him. We went to Berger King for a last hamburger and then on to the vet. I cried as I explained things to another vet that was then on duty. She listened and watched Calvin and then said she wouldn’t put down a healthy dog. And I cried with relief. Number eight was a close one.

Calvin was hit by a car, checked by a vet, and was sent home with doggie aspirin. Number nine.

  Calvin and Lauren were together for 15 years. They were inseparable. A few years ago, Lauren told me that Calvin saved her life and I believe her. For most of their time together, Lauren had an eating disorder but she also had Calvin who was beside himself with happiness when she came through the door. He didn’t know anything was wrong when they went to the dog park. He didn’t know how to worry while Lauren stroked his head as they watched TV. He wasn’t afraid for her when he slept in her bed every night. Like the safe place in the kids’ game of tag, Calvin was Lauren’s ‘base’. She could be at ease with him. Just by being there, he made a place for her to simply rest.

A few weeks ago, Lauren had to let Calvin go. He was sick and in pain. It crushed her. Calvin had a great life with Lauren and she gave him a good death. He was at home, curled up with Lauren. He fell asleep as Lauren petted him slowly and whispered how much she loved him.