The Life and Times of Jumbo and His Girl Lydia
by Jean Marano
Copyright 2011 Jean Marano
Smashwords Edition
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Chapter 1 - Puppyhood
“How would you like to have a little dog?” asked my husband’s sister Connie.
“Oh no! I have an 8-month old baby and that would be too much work,” I said.
“Please take him for just a week and if you don’t want him, I’ll take him back. The dog is only four weeks old and is the runt of the litter. His mother won’t feed him and he will die if no one takes him,” said Connie.
I agreed. I brought a shoebox with me to pick up this little fellow. My heart was not in it.
When I sat in the car with the dog on my lap, I looked at him and said, “I hate you.” The puppy looked at me with such sad eyes. I petted him and told him, “I ought to hate you.” Then he smelled my hand and that made me know I really loved him. “I just don’t like the work in training you.” By the time we got home, it was real love.
My husband worked nights, so I had time to train the puppy. I called him “Jumbo” just for fun. I heated the bottle for my baby, Lydia, and one for my baby dog, Jumbo. When I put my baby to sleep, I would try to train Jumbo.
The first night I put the puppy to bed with a blanket and a clock wrapped in it so he would think it was his mother’s heart. But id did not work. So I took him to sleep with me.
I put lots of paper on the floor. Every time Jumbo moved, I put him on the paper.
Next day I made my baby her bottle and put her to sleep. Then I poured the dog’s milk in a dish. He did not know what to do with it, so I gently pushed his head in the dish. Jumbo licked the dish and quickly found out “that’s food!” From that time on, no more bottle. He was a quick learner. In a month he was on his own.
One lovely sunny day, I put baby Lydia in the playpen in the backyard and gave her a bottle of milk. Then I let Jumbo in the yard. The yard was fenced and I could see everything from the kitchen window. I thought I had everything under control.
I looked out the window and saw my baby girl sucking on the bottle and then giving the baby dog a turn! He gratefully accepted it. I knew then they were good friends. Jumbo was very protective of Lydia. No one could go near the fence without Jumbo barking.
When Lydia was three years old, she got the flu and had to stay in bed. Jumbo stayed at her bedside and only left the room to go potty outside. Lydia would swing her arm off the bed to feel he was still there. I had to bring Jumbo’s dog food to the bedside for him to eat.
A dog is man’s best friend. Sometimes the dog thinks he is a person in the family. Jumbo was in our family for fourteen years and was part of many stories. I will tell you some of these stories.
Chapter 2 - Jumbo Grows into the Family
The family was made up of a mother, dad, a daughter and a big, big dog. The girl was named Lydia. Dad, named Pat, went to work and mom took care of the house and garden. I am the mom. My name is Jean and I am the teller of these stories.
Jumbo the dog followed mom around the house like a shadow. Jumbo loved children and they loved him. The played in the backyard. They played ball and hide-and-seek. Sometimes Jumbo would cheat. One day Lydia ordered Jumbo to sit in the corner while she hid the ball. Jumbo turned his head to see where Lydia put the ball. Lydia yelled “you’re cheating!” and Jumbo quickly turned back to his corner as if he understood. But he found the ball. He always did.
At one year old, Jumbo was full grown. He was part Boxer and part Great Dane. He would put his paws on the sink and, with his nose, he could run the water and get a drink. Whenever mom passed the sink, she would check to see if she had to turn the water off.
One day Lydia thought she would get a drink. If Jumbo could do it, why not her? Lydia climbed on him and was able to reach the water. When Lydia got down off Jumbo, he looked at mom and said, “funff.” That must have meant “oh what a kid!”
Chapter 3 - The Birthday Party
Jumbo played a lot with his little girl, Lydia. As time went by, Lydia would have some friends come to play. When she was 3 and a half years old, Lydia was invited to the birthday party of her 4-year-old friend. Jumbo also received his own invitation. Kids loved to have Jumbo at their party because he would wear a party hat and would sing when asked to.
At first, mom was worried about Jumbo being together with five children, the oldest being four. But the neighbors persuaded her to let Jumbo go to the party. Mom watched the party next door from her window. The fun started when Jumbo entered the backyard. Jumbo sang the “Happy Birthday” song with the children. And he played ball, hide-and-seek, hide the button, and some other games. They all had ice cream and cake - the children and Jumbo.
Chapter 4 - The Toy Piano
Mom bought a toy piano for Lydia. Lydia would bang on the piano on the back steps and sing. Lydia sat on one step with the piano one step above. One day Lydia left her piano to go potty. All at once, mom and dad heard the piano sound and singing. It was Jumbo!
Lydia heard the singing, too, and came out on the porch. “Hey! That’s my piano!” she told Jumbo.
Chapter 5 - The Protector
Lydia was once playing with Jumbo and her friend Billy in the courtyard. When mom called them for lunch, Lydia just looked up and pretended not to hear. She wanted to keep playing. Mom called three times, and Lydia didn’t come. Mom gave Lydia a pat on the behind and took her inside.
The next week when this happened, Jumbo was right next to Lydia. After Lydia ignored mom’s third call, mom raised her hand to pat the naughty girl. Jumbo grabbed mom’s wrist and growled. He did not bite mom at all, but he didn’t allow her to use that hand to spank Lydia.
It didn’t take long for Lydia to learn that she could depend on Jumbo for support. From that time on, mom had to put Jumbo in the cellar before using any discipline on Lydia.
Chapter 6 - Jumbo The Hungry
One morning, after Lydia went to school, mom went into the garden to do spring planting. Mom loved flowers and vegetables and was very good at growing them. After a few hours of work, mom was very tired and went back into the house to rest for a little while. Jumbo had a different idea. He kept poking his nose into the newspaper that mom was reading to get her attention.
“You want to eat?” mom asked. Jumbo turned his head to look at the cupboard. “Go get it,” mom said. Jumbo went into the pantry, opened the cupboard door, took out a can of his food, and placed it right under the electric can opener.
Mom pretended not to see any of this. Jumbo came to mom’s chair and barked a little. Mom still played dumb. Jumbo went back to the corner, got his empty dog dish, and plopped it right on mom’s lap. He looked at mom and barked again.
He looked at her as if to say “I can understand your words, why can’t you understand mine?” Mom laughed and fed Jumbo, who then went for a nap, while mom had to start cooking dinner for Lydia and dad.
Chapter 7 - The Flower Box
Mom’s friend visited one day. She brought a box of flowers she cut in her garden. The two friends worked together arranging the flowers into a nice bouquet. When they finished, they put the bouquet back in the box. After a fun visit, mom’s friend took the box to the door to go home. Jumbo did not want the box taken out of the house. He stood in the doorway to keep mom’s friend from taking the box of flowers away.
Mom had to put Jumbo in the cellar so her friend could take her flowers back home. Jumbo allowed things to come into the house, but he didn’t want the things to go back out!
Chapter 8 - The Stranger
Dad liked to take Jumbo on his walks away from the yard and he did not like mom to do this. One nice day, mom decided to take Jumbo for a walk before dad came home from work.
When she passed by the park, a strange man stopped his car and got out. “How are you doing today?” asked the man. Mom was afraid of the stranger. She told Jumbo “sic ‘em” but held tight on the leash. Jumbo arched his back and growled. He showed his big white teeth. Jumbo let the stranger know he was not welcome near mom. The man stepped back in fright and ran to his car.
He drove away without saying goodbye!
Chapter 9 - The Gatekeeper
Every Saturday after Lydia went to bed, the neighbors, Sarah and Frank, would come over to play cards with mom and dad. Jumbo always greeted them in a friendly way. One day Frank said that Jumbo might be too friendly. He thought that Jumbo would still greet him if he came through the window instead of the door. They thought they would try this to see what Jumbo would do.
The next Saturday, mom left the patio window open just a little so Frank could open it. Frank called on the telephone to say he was coming and mom and dad went into the living room to wait.
As soon as Frank got to the window, Jumbo ran to it and started barking. When Jumbo bit the windowsill, Frank retreated. The next Saturday when Frank and Sarah came to the door, Jumbo stood in the doorway and growled. From then on, Jumbo had to be put in the cellar so Frank and Sarah could come to play cards.
Chapter 10 - Paying the Milkman
Jumbo got to know visitors to the house who came often. The milkman delivered the milk each week. Mom paid the bill when the milk was delivered. One day the milkman brought the milk and mom gave him a $10 bill to pay for the week’s deliveries. Jumbo snatched the bill from the milkman’s hand and gave it back to mom.
The milkman no longer wanted to deliver milk to Jumbo’s home!
Chapter 11 - The Stranger in the House
When dad went to work, he would call mom on his lunch hour to say “hello.” After mom talked to dad, she would let Jumbo hear dad’s voice on the phone. Jumbo loved that and he would turn his head and bark.
One day after dad went to work, and Lydia went to school, mom got a call that grandma was sick. “I must go to grandma to see if I can help,” mom thought. Mom asked her neighbor if she could get Lydia after school and keep her in her house until mom got home. The neighbor was very helpful.
When mom got to grandma’s house, she decided to call home to see if dad was home. But someone else answered the phone - not dad.
Mom couldn’t understand what was being said. Mom called her neighbor right away and said, “some stranger is in my house!” The neighbor called the police. When the policemen got to the house, they looked through the window and were so surprised.
There was Jumbo, pawing at the phone and growling. One of the policemen could not believe his eyes. He turned to the neighbor and asked, “What do I put in the police report?”
The neighbor answered, “say that the dog answered the phone!”
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About Jean Marano
Jean Marano was born in 1915 in New York City to Italian immigrant parents. After high school, she worked several years as a dressmaker. She has always loved animals and had a magical ability growing flowers. She has lived in Danvers, Massachusetts for the last 40 years, where she has won several contests for her character doll creations, such as Popeye and Mother Goose. Now 96, she is too old to sew and garden, but clearly recalls her memories of Jumbo. Daughter Lydia, who grew up with Jumbo in the 1950s, is currently an artist and science fiction writer living in California.
These are stories that Jean Marano is happy to remember about a family dog she loved. Maybe you have stories about your own dog. Write them down so you can share them with others, too!
