My Old Friend, Solo

Alan Cupit remembers his best friend.

Solo was eighteen months old when I first had him. A beautiful German Sheppard who’s owners wanted him out of their lives. At the time I was homeless but was fortunate enough to have a job driving a mini-bus so for a few weeks before being re-homed. I took him to my heart and we slept at night on the bus. In the day he would stay at my sisters or my mothers while I worked. I kept the bus with me at all times so my boss never realised I was using it as a ‘bedroom’ but he often wondered where the dog hairs came from.

I often took Solo on some of my mini-bus journeys picking up fare paying passengers, everyone loved him and he loved them back until one fateful day things changed. I had to stop and pick up none other than my boss’s wife! For some reason Solo took an instant dislike to her, perhaps it was the strong smell of her perfume which was very strong admittedly. He barked uncontrollably at her while I cringed with embarrassment and she just sat there with a worried look on her face. The only passenger he didn’t take to after weeks coming with me.
After that, things changed. I was told by my boss to ‘keep that b****y dog off the bus’!. Luckily I was re-homed by then so it didnít pose a problem. The only thing was that Solo hated where we lived now and I went through four three piece suits, a music stereo and hundreds of music tapes that he totally destroyed until he settled in, bless him! 
When he was around three years old we met my then wife to be who adored each other.

He became a very well behaved dog with a wonderful temperament but grew to the size of a small donkey. He would sleep with us in bed at night causing us to often sleep with our legs out of the bed because he was so big. 
When we got married he was guest of honour at our wedding and wore a velvet, bow tie. He loved everyone.
He was also a sensitive soul and would look very sheepish whenever he let wind.

We would spend hours chasing sticks the bigger the better as far as he was concerned, Big, wooden fence posts were his favourite.
He slowed down a little as he got older and when he was roughly fourteen he developed liver and kidney problems and trouble with his back legs. He very sadly had to be put out of misery by the vet many years ago. 

I have another dog now (and a parrot) but I still miss Solo so much and think about him most days. R.I.P Solo, my old friend.