Chubs was probably the muttiest mutt we ever had. He was handsomely reddish in color with plenty of black and white mixed in. He was named for his plumpness in puppihood that soon gave way to a sleek, athletic build. Subject as all the humans and animals in our home were to Dad’s proclivity to bestow multiple names, Chubs was also known as Chubby, Chubby Dog, Ol’ Chubs, Chubby Ol’ Groundhog, and “that big ol’ boner boof dog.”

Chubs’s friendly nature won him many friends among people and pets alike. To no one, human or canine, was Chubs’s cheery demeanor more attractive than to Uncle Cecil’s dog Smokie. Smokie was a little beagle mix who adored Chubs, so much so that he began to follow Chubs around everywhere he went. Smokie was a smallish, mild-tempered little pup...

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