It’s that time of the year. Time for me to write my annual column about dogs.

I only allow myself to do that once every 365 days, more or less. Otherwise I would get carried away. Ask my wife.

Anyone who knows me, even a little, knows about my dog obsession. It runs far close enough to mental imbalance that some people say I need therapy.

I would do it. As long as they let me have a therapy dog.

There’s no time in my life when I didn’t like dogs, but until I was in my 30s, my lifestyle and occasionally being on the road wouldn’t accommodate it. Having a dog requires care, time and attention.

They’ve been with us for a long long time. Scientists and researchers estimate between 20,000 and 40,000 years. Some human sitting around a campfire tossed a piece of meat to a wolf lollygagging near the fire, probably just for entertainment. It wasn’t long (a few thousand years?) before Fido the Wolf was rolling over for a treat and barking at the caveman UPS guy as he sprinted by.

I’m sure you realize by now that I have spent a lot of time reading about dogs, watching documentaries about dogs and watching movies… about dogs.

Denise is not quite as over the top as me, but close. When we’re watching a movie and there’s a dog just kinda in the background, we end up fixating on it.

The bullets can be hurtling through the air and men dropping like flies, but we’re yelling at screen, “Don’t hurt that dog!”

And God forbid the pup gets hurt or killed! We ‘bout had a stroke watching the beginning of John Wick. Our family doctor would most likely tell us not to do that again without a set of those electronic paddles handy.

My first dog when I was 6 years old was a German Shepherd named Tippy. He was a typical shepherd, typical color, typical size. Not long after we got him, we had to move to England with my dad who was in the Air Force. So we left him with my grandmother at her farm outside of Eupora.

Yes, unlike the usual story people would tell their kids when they’re getting rid of a dog, he ACTUALLY went to live on a farm.

When we came home in three years, he had reverted to wolf size like a goldfish put in a bigger bowl and had become a huge canine. (His ancient ancestors would have been proud!) He had all but technically become a real wolf.

Tippy would occasionally travel to a neighboring farm in wolf mode to hunt. Grandma would sometimes have to pay the farmer for the cow (Yes…cow!) or large pig he would target. Tippy loved living and roaming in the country playing the wild role.

But this giant “predator” would turn into a big softy when us kids would tether him to one of those red wagons and make him pull us around her yard like a tourist carriage in New Orleans. We would pull his ears and every now and then try to ride him. I’m sure our “wolf” was embarrassed by it all, but he would never even growl. You can’t take the dog out of the dog.

My Uncle Glenwood’s working farm was only two-to-three miles away. One time while we were playing outside, he sent one of his farmhands over on a tractor to mow the grass.

As he pulled up to the house, out of the woods came our Super Wolf who parked himself next to the tractor barking, snarling and showing his enormous teeth. The man almost turned white (which would have been quite a feat).

Grandma came flying out of the screen door, grabbing Mr. Wolf by the collar and dragging him away, ears and tail down, all the while whapping him with the back of her tiny hands. Poor Tippy. He looked so chastised.

My guess is the man remembered this scene in his memory to his dying day: a 110 pound old lady whuppin’ a giant furry monster all the way back to his pen.

Tippy lived a long, happy life on the farm and – apart from his hobby as a wolf – he was a great dog. His legacy lives on.

But we have a 20 pound Jack Russell. That’s enough “wolf” for us.

Thom Caraccio ([email protected]) is a retired musician and retired motion picture scenic artist living in West Palm Beach, Florida who hails from Columbus. He graduated from S.D. Lee High in 1968 and still considers Columbus his real hometown.