Ike

 This story is as I remember my dad telling it to me on a bench by the Weber River walking path, summer 2019.  There were piles of cottonwood fluff everywhere.  Dad mentioned that it was super flammable.  I hadn't known that before.  My family was in Utah for a visit and some of my kids and I were walking with dad.  He had brain cancer but was doing pretty good, considering.  He walked slowly and needed to rest occasionally.  When we sat to rest I asked him to tell my kids about his dog, Ike.

My grandmother's aunt, Eva Willes Wangsgard, lived around the corner from where my dad grew up.  She was a poet with several published volumes and her name is listed among Utah poets of her time.  Eva also enjoyed entering contests.  In the 1950s and 60s it was common for newspapers and magazines to invite readers to submit entries for photo captions, jingles, poems, all sorts of things.  Prizes ranged from a basketball to large amounts of cash.  There was one common rule, only one entry per person.  This did not get in the way for Aunt Eva.  She would enter the contest as many times as she had nieces and nephews whose names she could borrow.  The family rule was that if the entry with your name on it won you could keep any prizes, but you had to split the money with Aunt Eva.

In the spring of 1955 "dad" submitted the winning entry to name a cartoon dog, he was 7.  The name Aunt Eva had submitted with dad's name on it was Bernard MuttSadden.  (This was a play on the name of Bernarr McFadden, a publisher and influencer in the areas of health and physical fitness.)  The prize was cash and a beagle. Dad had to go up on stage to receive the award.  He recalled his mother coaching him on what to say and "helping him remember" how he came up with the clever name.  

Dad liked Ike, but he wasn't too keen on taking care of him.  All the neighborhood kids liked to come over and play with Ike and apparently he was a good natured dog, but one day dad noticed that he was gone.  He figured he had run away and no-one ever said otherwise.

In October of 1999 my grandma passed away.  The family gathered in her home after the funeral and told the stories that reminded us of her.  Aunt Janet, my dad's older sister, mentioned Ike.  She looked a little nervous, but said that now that grandma was gone it was probably safe to finally tell dad the truth.  Grandma had gotten tired of taking care of Ike when dad didn't seem to care at all.  She found him a new home and gave him away.  About a week later dad noticed that Ike was gone and grandma told him he had run away.  Grandma had sworn Janet to secrecy for fear that dad would be angry and she carried that secret for over 40 years.  It might seam wrong to laugh that hard the day of your grandma's funeral but it was just what we all needed.  It was so like her, so funny, such a perfect finale.  

I sure miss grandma, and dad.  I wish I'd had a chance to know my great, great aunt Eva.

And remember, never give a pet to a child as a gift or a prize.