But the vet said their eyes get covered over so they can't see and they die of cancer by the time they're five. We scared Maggie with that and she went back looking at the book. We all looked at the book. Setter, airedale, lab, bulldog, standard schnauzer? (Not a mini which would remind us too much of our earlier much-loved Albert.) I liked the bulldog, Maggie, the setter and Louise, the airdale. Murray hated the whole idea.

One day--it was in September 1996, the kids had just started back to school--remembering what Bob Sanchez, the vet over in Westport, had to say about mixed breeds having better dispositions, we pulled into the animal shelter in Peru. It was just something that happened on spur of the moment--no plan at all. About an hour later we pulled out with Tramp in the back seat.

The choices were heartbreaking to make. On the average, stray dogs or dogs put up "for adoption" last only a week or two before they are put to sleep. There just aren't enough people who want them. The caretakers didn't say but we suspected that some of them might have been bad tempered biters. We approached the selection process witrh caution--and besides we were in there just to look around anyhow!

Tramp is a thoroughbred male American Cocker, about 20 months old when we got him, big for his breed at 36 lbs. The photographer from the local paper had been there that day and his picture was going to be in tomorrow's paper--"For Adoption"--a regular feature to help find homes for the shelter's inmates. We took him on a lead and he appeared happy and well behaved. Louise thought he'd go well with the old Stone House.

Our theory was and is that he was stolen by dog thieves and was let go when they realized that he was too old to pass for the dog store puppy papers they had to match. We learned about this racket from the vet when Albert was stolen and recovered years ago--but that's another story.

Tramp was a mess. We quickly got him to the vet in Peru for an exam (ok except bad ears, like all cockers), shots and a rough and tumble scrubdown in the tub. We got home just after the kids. They were thrilled. Murray flipped 180 degrees!

Tramp is a homebody--perfect for us--napping a good deal of the day in a friendly comforting way. He beds up at night sharing the space right along with the people in the family--snoring a good deal. He begs a bit at the table--but not much. Worst thing is the barking.

On the advice of the vet we fixed him, but that didn't change things. Tramp barks at any and every little thing--a truck driving up, guests at the barn, someone at the door. The vet says he would have told us about this drawback to the Cocker personality, but he could see we were in love and it wouldn't matter anyway. Tramp's in training now with water spray and this is working. Don't be afraid--he does not bite.

A lady from Lake Placid with a mobile dog grooming business comes once a month to groom him. He's put on some weight since his "on the road" days as a tramp. He's on lean diet dog food now and we try hard not to give him scraps from the table. The snap was taken in the car with Maggie's camera from the French trip.

Now that we've developed our vacation rental business, there's more visitors at our back door and Tramp's barking let's us know someone's there if we don't see them driving up or they don't know how to use the old fashion door knocker. Tramps's scrapping and barking is serious and persistent. Sometimes we think to put him out in the yard before we open the door and sometimes we don't think of it. But don't worry--he doesn't bite.

We've tried every training trick that has been suggested. Water sprayed right on his nose stops him for a moment or two. But nothing really works. He's a barking cocker and that's all there is to it.
(Want to hear the whole story?)