Family Arend: Minus grandchildren and partners From left to right pictured with Mr. Chips Geoffrey II, Ralph, Emily, Sabiha, Geoffrey and Flossie.

     When Sirius would appear in the sky just before the sun, in July, that marked the beginning of the very hottest days of the year.
     The Romans referred to this period as "dies caniculares" or "days of the dog star," which was eventually translated as just "dog days."
     Too hot to handle?
     Now that the world seems warmer and that last trade show of the first half of 2024 was over at PVG last week, we are counting the ‘Dog Days’ as July 4th in America approaches Thursday wishing all A SUPER SUMMER 2024!
     At home we look at our four-legged friends with some passion whilst they continue to do what they have always done best as great spirits looking up every time, we enter the room and no matter what, asking us the same question with longing in their eyes:
     “What’s up?” they always want to know.
     Lulu, our faithful companion (pictured here), could not be described as a wonder dog, that’s for sure.
     No heroics on tap for July 4th either.

Dog On Assignment
     As you read this the fireworks begin to go off early into the wee small hours, Lulu, who is on assignment at the home our daughter Flossie shares with her husband Anthony, hides under the bed.
     But gone is not forgotten, so I often think about our dog who came to us a couple of Thanksgivings ago from the Linden Boulevard. ASPCA kill shelter.
     Located near JFK International Cargo area, the Animal Care Center is where they send dogs for a last chance at finding a home before something less seemly happens.
     Lulu, as it turns out, was named Lucy when I first spied her hard up against an uncomfortable wire cage.
     
How did this Happen?
     “How the hell did I end up here?” was the question in her eyes, ringing clear as a bell.
     “Look Geoffrey, here is a cute dog named Charlie,” said my darling wife Sabiha, as Lucy and I stared at each other through the wires. A big truck pulled up out back and the place went nuts as a few dozen dogs had their ticket punched and were about to be moved from the shelter to storefront adoption centers somewhere in downtown Brooklyn.
     Undoubtedly, they were celebrating their liberation and a chance to live another day.
     In most shelters, the animals look at you or pace around as you walk past or extend a hand.

Not Lucy
     She just held her ground and sent me another message:
     “Get me the hell out of here.”
     Ready, Set, Go! But Wait . . .
     I, of course, was ready at once, but had this problem.
     We had lost our cocker of a decade, a black-and-white named Mr. Chips, about eight months prior, and although we had waited a decent amount of time our adoption of another dog had to pass the sniff test of both daughters, even though everybody at this point in time lives elsewhere.

For The Love Of Chips
     Chips was another shelter dog adoption so beloved by our family.
     When we had to put him down, we had most of the family—Sabiha, Flossie, Emily, Geoffrey, Christina, and I—in the old VW bus as we drove to the vet one very dark sad night.
     I recall driving back home in silence. No one said a word, but the next day I noticed that the big box of Kleenex in the bus was empty.
     Fast forward eight months and into the shelter marched the dubious daughters, Flossie and Emily, pictured here with Lulu and Zou Zou (our son's).
     Flossie took one look at Lucy and exclaimed:
     “How come you’re so damn cute?”
     I knew it was all over but the paperwork, when Flossie said that.
     Then we all went outside on a little “trial walk.”

Lucy Becomes Lulu
     On the VW bus ride home, Lucy became Lulu, named after the comic strip character “Little Lulu,” a notoriously mischievous rascal.
     “She is a great dog,” said the lady who took $160 dollars as fee for Lulu, figuring that we might not have already figured that out.

Chew On This Awhile
     “She likes to chew on stuff,” she added.
     Later we discovered that Lulu had belonged to some people in Manhattan that had bought her from a puppy mill for maybe three thousand USD and then kept her caged all day while at work.
     One day Lulu escaped captivity and had the run of the apartment. She found a nice, sumptuous pair of leather shoes and dutifully chewed them up.
     After that episode it was curtains for this dog and her “Mad Hattan” experience.
     I guess she earned her new name far earlier than suspected.

Pretty Face Did Not Add Up
     Lucy was not the “accessory” those folks wanted or were willing to care much about.
     “That happens a lot,” the dog people tell me.
     Lulu basically needed and still uses one of those nylon chew toys. She works at it for a couple of hours every day, honing it into a makeshift shiv that we quickly retire before she hurts herself or stabs one of us.
     It’s either that or lose a leg on the dining room table.
     Apparently, every few weeks Anthony takes a hammer and screwdriver, knocks the point off, and sands it down with sandpaper so she can get to work chewing again on the same bone. They’re marking time by how much her bone has shrunk.

Two Beauties
     When we brought her home, Lulu was immediately enamored with our small, green backyard.
     She also immediately took to Cunningham Park nearby, an enormous green space where she can visit tennis courts to help grow her collection of more than 100 bright green tennis balls.
     Flossie would walk her there and the two of them would sit outside the fence until a player would eventually spot the two beauties and toss a ball over the fence.
     After a year and a half of life in a crate all day, with nothing more than tiny patches of green around city trees, Lulu at times must be thinking (you will pardon the express the expression), “I must have died and gone to heaven!”

In The Company of Dogs
     I think this picture of Ingo Zimmer, CEO of ATC is the most endearing picture of love between man and beast ever shared across the board in air cargo.
     Give your cargo to this guy because he pays attention to detail and is relaxed about making your business work right, no matter the challenge, is the message here.
     I remember one time at ATC Cargo City Süd when suggesting we do a photo of my visit, Ingo handed me his little dog Tobi.
     There is something special about people who love dogs I thought and still do.
     The great American children’s song written during the California Gold Rush of the 1860s,recorded by Burl Ives in 1941 titled: ‘Sweet Betsy From Pike,’ captures the love of a dog perfectly:
     When the Gold Rush goes south comes the lyrics:
          “The rooster ran off, and the cattle all died,
          That morning the last piece of bacon was fried.
          Ike got discouraged, Betsy got mad,
          The dog drooped his tail and looked wonderfully sad.”

      So as our world heats up in July and August so does our love for dogs.
Geoffrey