Story behind "Ground Dog Day"

"Ground Dog Day" is one of my most autobiographical stories, despite the fact the main character is female. It is fairly factual otherwise, with a few exceptions. There was no Petey Lentz who froze to death and I never borrowed any one's trumpet to scare ground hogs out of the ground.

The description of the house was accurate. My dad began driving long distance after returning from World War II. At that time he pulled tankers filled with milk. The company that hired him gave him the house to live in, actually rent free, because he was a returning veteran. It set way back off Route 30 down a long lane half surrounded by a swamp. Just as the story described, there was a cow pasture to one side and a hill behind where corn grew in the summers.

We lived there two years. The place was pretty isolated. There were some places up the highway and there was one family with children around my age, three boys and a girl. The girl was the youngest. They were only there in the summer. Their father was dead and they went to the Hershey School most of the year. One summer day they were visiting me and their little sister was hit by a car and killed on their walk home. One of the brothers had seen some wild flowers across the highway and went to pick them for their mother. One boy held the girl's hand, but she bit him, he let go and she ran out into traffic. Very sad, it has always bothered me because they were going from visiting me.

The story of the pups is true. I saw them sledding, was chased by the mama dog, a German Shepherd. The daddy dog had been a collie. 

The SPCA came and took away the mama dog and left the pups to die. I have had a negative view of the SPCA ever since. 

My dad did dig the pups out after we put dog food down the ground hog holes for a few days. We gave the pups to friends, except the runt of the litter, which I kept and named Topper.

Topper was a gentle and beautiful dog. he had the

coloration of a German Shepherd, but a more elongated face, like a collie. i wish I had more pictures of him.

Me with Topper, 1949