Dex a/k/a Mini-Mike

Dex came from Animal Control just south of Memphis. He had been there only a few days so it was only twenty dollars to spring him. My son had just moved back from Denver and twenty dollars was just about all he had in his pocket. He had graduated and was in flux looking for a job. He had been living in an apartment while in school and was anxious to get a dog —his own dog.

Mike hadn’t been home long when he called me laughing, “I just got a dog and he’s digging a hole in the seat of my truck.” Their relationship grew from there. I honestly believe that Animal Control was ready to find a home for this little bit of big trouble. And, I don’t think this was his first time to be incarcerated.

That weekend I met Dex. “Wow, Mike that’s a nice dog. He looks like a Jack Russell.” But, it didn’t take long to figure out how this one ended up at Animal Control. The dog had a bad habit of running in the opposite direction when called. I have no doubt that his previous owner just got tired of chasing him. He’d take off like a streak of lightening and never break stride. The only way to catch him was if he found something interesting to water or stopped to scratch and sniff. If he sensed that he was just about to get nabbed, he’d take off again before you could get your hands on him.

The patience of a twenty-one year old is short and Dex soon learned that Mike might call once but his world was not going to stop to chase a dog. I purchased a collar that said “Dex” with several phone numbers stamped on it. Over the next few months, Mike met many of his neighbors.

As time has passed, I noticed that this pair had the same behavior patterns and cocky attitudes, so I started calling the annoying little animal “Mini-Mike”. I mentioned this likeness to one of Mike’s friends and he said, “Yea, they both have attention spans about this long”, and held up his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.

Now, when you see one, you know the other is close by. As for the bad habit, as soon as Dex realized that no one was chasing him, he stopped running.

When they come to the house for their usual weekend visit, I will ask, “Where’s his hoody?” I’d noticed that I don’t get an answer. I had purchased Dex a hot pink velvet sweatshirt at Target with rhinestones dotting the “i”s in the word “Vicious” and it had a hood. It seemed fitting. But, maybe hot pink isn’t a guy color or maybe the rhinestones were a little much. Anyway, I’m guessing that the hoody got traded for a beer.