Today would have been my big brother Lemmy’s 11th birthday.  I’ve told Asa about the devoted bond Lemmy had with his Momma Butter emailing her for every holiday, how he was a bit of a curmudgeon when I first arrived home, and then there are the stories of how he played with Grandpa.  However, today I’d like to tell Asa about what a goofy Golden Lemmy could be.  When I was a puppy, Lemmy embarrassed me to no end with these antics, but now thinking back they bring the biggest smile to my face.

Lemmy was a bit of a late bloomer.  He didn’t master stairs until he was 2 years old!  Oh sure he could manage the few steps in and out of our house.  But despite all of Mom and Dad’s efforts to encourage him to try, Lemmy absolutely refused to attempt the stairs leading upstairs or to the basement.  At one point Mom considered moving the bedroom downstairs so he wouldn’t be alone!  But with patience, not to mention a lot of peanut butter, Lemmy eventually conquered the stairs at our house.  So here’s the embarrassing part.  After that whenever someone came over to visit, Lemmy would throw a tantrum insisting that the basement door be opened so he could proudly show off his ability to go up and down the stairs.  Oh how he would beam with pride and jump around afterwards!  He happily continued this “trick” up until he was 7 years old, and his illness made him too weak to do it.

Another lovable, but embarrassing, quirk was Lemmy’s insistence on the hind end scratch.  Lemmy did not like having his head petted.  He tolerated it, but would quickly swing himself around and start shaking his backend at people so they would pet that instead.  Then while being petted, he would stomp his back paws and wiggle his hind end to show his delight, with the biggest goofy grin on his face!  It really was quite a sight.  Words do not do justice describing the hind end scratch dance.  For those who knew Lemmy well, this was just a natural part of saying hello.  For those meeting Lemmy for the first time, this made for awkward introductions.  People were quite confused as to why he was shaking his butt at them!  Oh and once the dance was done, Lemmy would happily stand between the legs of his new best friend.  Also awkward, especially if the person was short or wearing a dress, both of which caused our grandmothers great distress!

Overall Lemmy was a lovable Golden Retriever without a mean bone in his body.  He definitely was not in touch with his inner Golden Wolf.  In fact, even Mom’s pink flamingo lawn ornaments would scare him!  However, one day Pepere discovered the secret to unleashing Lemmy’s Golden Wolf.  While puppy-sitting, Pepere added venison to Lemmy’s dinner bowl.  The transformation was almost instantaneous.  Lemmy would puff his chest out, and strut around the room, while growling!  There were no hind end scratches allowed then.  The effect only lasted a few brief minutes, and then he’d quickly return to his goofy persona.  But on the rare occasions he found venison in his dog bowl, Lemmy was a big tough guy.

I really wish Asa could have known Lemmy.  These stories have released a flood of happy memories.  I can’t believe he’s been gone 3 years.  Despite his curmudgeonly ways and embarrassing antics, Lemmy was an awesome brother.  In fact, I think I’m going to take out the old scrapbooks and share more stories with Asa.  Lemmy, thank you for being the BEST big brother!  We’ll see you at the end of the trail…