Now There's Only One

For the last 20 years my life has been ruled by dogs.

From the moment I woke in the morning until I went to bed at night there was always something canine that needed doing. Whether it was letting them out or letting them in, filling food bowls or picking up poop, the dogs demanded my attention.

From September until January we hunted more days than not, and I loved watching them work. Hunting also tired them out. Consequently they were best behaved in the fall.

Wearing them out during the other eight months of the year wasn’t as easy.

I had as many as four at one time, and always at least two,...