Big, liquid, dark-brown eyes. A goofy doggie grin on his face. Shaggy, unkempt brown fur. Ears that stick up like radar beacons, ears that miss very little. Big, oversized paws. He is all canine ... and more!
It's just too bad that he cannot walk without a prononced limp and hobbles when he runs. You see, our dog was born with a rather pronounced "deformity" on his lower back; he has a noticeable "hump". Because of this, my son named him "Quasimodo" -- y'know, the guy from the movie "The Hunchback From Notre Dame"? Turns out that name suited him perfectly.
Despite his disability, "Quasi" (as we call him for short) can do just about anything any other dog can do: fetch sticks, balls, or birds or various other small animals. Sit up and beg for his food (that is, until he gets off balance and falls over). Bark to alert us of people in our yard or suspicious activity afoot. Roll over (sort of). Bark on command or keep quiet when we tell him to. Count one to ten (our son, the genius, taught him that trick).
Quasimodo happens to be smart. Extremely smart. He is the best dog we ever had.
Quasi came to us five years ago when he was a tiny puppy. We fell in love with him immediately. He is now an important part of our family, and it's gotten to the point to where we cannot imagine our family without him.
If anything, our dog has taught us about the meaning of perseverance despite overwhelming physical odds, courage, and determination. He's also taught us about accepting animals (or even people) who are less than perfect. He is a great teacher, and we are his ever-ready students.
Sometimes people stare or ask questions about his deformed back. That is normal, especially among children (who are naturally curious anyway), but we feel that it's okay to ask. How are they ever going to find out about our pet if they don't bother to ask??
Most of the time, though, people are very accepting of Quasimodo. This is how we would like it to be. I just wish that people could learn from our dog because dogs love unconditionally, from the heart: they don't care if a person is tall, short, fat, skinny, "just right", black, brown, yellow, red, tan, or white, in a wheelchair or on crutches or seemingly healthy, with no visible signs of disability. They just accept people "as is".
People haven't learned that yet obviously. Maybe they need to take lessons from our dog and attend the School of Canine Knowledge and have Quasimodo as their instructor. He would change their lives in ways thought unimaginable, and people would soon learn to see the world through his (doggie) eyes!
