My earliest memories include dogs. Laddie had his place in the family long before I was born. He was a big, fluffy, yellow dog. At least I thought he was, but when I’ve looked back at old pictures, he wasn’t nearly as big as I remember. I have no idea what breeds might have gone into his makeup, but he was beautifully patient with a small girl. King was my dog, not that my family got him for me especially, but he chose me as his favorite person and kept me company as I grew up. Another fluffy dog, he was probably part sheltie, part shepherd, and a lot of other things. He met the school bus every day and escorted me to the house. King was smart and eager to learn new tricks or to run along beside my bicycle. He hiked along when I roamed around the farm where I grew up, and occasionally killed a snake. When I read that Native Americans attached a travois to their dogs when they moved camp, King let me rig up a harness and drag and pulled around my dolls without compla...