"Take It To The Limit."

The hook will bate in you. Snag on some memory. Drag through your life, and that memory I had of putting my childhood dog down came to the front of my mind. “Take it to the limit” by The Eagles was playing in my mom’s car tape deck while my mother and sister cried. I don’t know if I cried or not.

It was all so traumatic. I was around eleven years old when my dog came home with his eye hanging out of his head. Took less than a month, even after seeing the veterinarian, for him to go down. After the eye he developed paralysis in his back legs. I remember, my father build him a sled. The idea was that he could use his front legs to guide himself. That didn’t help as eventually he was in constant pain. He was a good dog. He’d follow me everywhere. Playing in the woods, playing on the streets, in the company of friends. He was smart. I remember once he climbed up the ladder of my tree house. Haven’t owned a dog after that.

Some would consider ‘dog’ as being an archetype of God. Obvious, spell dog backwards. Also, a dog will love you unconditionally.

The guy who performed, at The Julep Room’s openmic, after me played a cover of The Eagles “Take It To The Limit.”

I look at my dog’s chain around my neck. I wear it when I think I need protection and inspiration. On the chain are some things that hold dear to my foundation.

Years later, studying the tarot, I found out about the ‘fool’ card. The fool is led by a dog nipping at his feet to show him the direction to, or not, to take. This was the first time I learned of the dog as being an archetype of God. Obvious, spell dog backwards. Also, a dog will love you unconditionally.