Mr. Magoo, Hero Dog

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog

The water was gently rolling against the beach as I sat in my lawn chair just relaxing and admiring. There were beautiful women in bathing suits frolicking around. I was enjoying every second but there was an incessant sound that was disturbing the scene.

I moved my head and all of a sudden I realized I was in bed. I was in my house in Thornhill, Ontario as snow was falling heavily outside. My dog Mr. Magoo was barking non-stop. He was the one who added the unnecessary noise to my beach scene dream. Mr. Magoo had woken me up.

I took off my CPAP mask and turned off the machine and rolled out of bed. The clock read six twenty am and it was still dark outside. The blizzard was very unappealing, especially since I had to drive to a very important appointment for nine thirty. I had tried to convince the client that a Zoom call would be just as effective as meeting in person, but she didn’t want to hear about it. She wanted to meet to go over the plans for the new house she was building.

Mr. Magoo watched patiently as I jumped in the shower, dried off, brushed my teeth, did my personal hygiene routine and added some cologne. I dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, Mr. Magoo following me closely.

I was born and raised in Canada, so snow shouldn’t have bothered me, but as I aged I realized I could live happily without it. In the kitchen I poached a couple of eggs, threw a bagel in the toaster and sliced tomatoes. I took a fresh can of dog food and put half in Mr. Magoo’s bowl.

I turned on my computer and checked the news and everything looked fairly dismal. The Anti-Semitism across the United States seemed to be escalating on a daily basis.

When your last name is Cohen, you become immediately recognizable as a Jew which is not a bad thing, but in a climate of hate, it is not a name that lets you meld into the woodwork. My name, Sammy Cohen was as Jewish as it gets.

After breakfast, I threw on my winter coat and took Mr. Magoo for a walk. I was pleased that he did his business a few doors from my house. I scooped the poop and headed back home. The street hadn’t been cleaned yet, which meant after I cleared the driveway there would be…