First time my life, Dog comes live in the house. Forty-five years on this farm, ain't never had no dog in the house, always outside, sleeping in the barn with them chickens, my cow, my horse. But Agnes, she takes a liking to Dog and done bring him in the house. You'd a thought he was royalty, he was belonged to King George and Queen Mary, the way Agnes carries on about Dog. It's the truth, I love Dog, but heck, ain't no place in the house for him. But Agnes, she done insisted, this dog is old, he needs to come in the house. As if she don't have enough to worry about, a 3-week old baby girl and no car to get home to Philadelphia, she brings Dog into the house and sets about making him healthy.
I've had Dog long as I can remember. Shoot, he must be going on thirteen years now. Long before Al Smith became governor our state. Agnes, when she first saw Dog about the place, she cried. That was just two days after we done delivered Baby Grace. She done cried and told me, wasn't a year ago she buried her own old dog. So she wanted him for companionship, and Mr. Norman, he said she's real sweet on dogs, would it be okay just this once. So I said yes, why the heck not, but he ain't used to being in the house. He'll tear up the place. Mr. Norman, he said he'd clean up after Dog and fix anything done broke.
Even on that old plantation back in Kentucky just before the war, had no dogs in the house. Master wouldn't have it. So we had the dogs in the cabins with us, they kept us warm winter nights. Those Kentucky Januarys, they was brutal. It was the rain worse than the snow and when it done rained, the dogs they come into the cabins and get us all wet. But no matter because they was warm and they made us feel real fine. So when I got my own farm up here in New York with my man, we done had no dogs in the house -- and even after he died back in '95 I ain't never brought no dog in, not even for my eleven children. But Agnes, she wants Dog in the house, keeping us warm and cozy.
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