Sprague’s sixth title a funny and sometimes teary tale of life with an 11-pound furry dynamo

A book launch meet and greet with Terry Sprague is planned for Tuesday, Aug. 20, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Picton Home Hardware. This store was chosen as it, and the staff, was Christie’s favourite, and the day of the week, Tuesday, was the day Sprague and Christie would most often visit. Sprague encourages people to visit with their pets, “and we’ll just talk dogs!”

Story by Sharon Harrison
Photos by Tina Sawicki

“Dogs have no idea how truly wonderful they are. They just wander around making the world a better place.” – Terry Sprague

Stories about one man and his dog bring much laughter, and a few tears, in Terry Sprague’s sixth book, ‘The Two of Us’ – an achievement made just in advance of his 80th birthday.

While it’s a typical, and perhaps familiar story of a man and his closest companion and their adventures together, it is also extraordinarily poignant – ultimately, a love story between animal and human. As Sprague puts it, it is a story about an unrivalled 14-year bond between the author and his beloved dog Christie, who bid farewell last September.

Sprague, is best known in the County as a naturalist and nature and hike tour guide, as well as a column writer for more than 50 years.

In his beautifully-rendered and delightfully-descriptive account of day-to-day life with Christie, he shares the stories of his devoted little dog and what the pair may, or may not have, got up to during their time together. Sprague is clear about one thing, “she will never be forgotten”.

Sprague is no stranger to dogs, having shared his life with more than a dozen of them.

“My first dog was Rover, there was Chico (the pipe smoking fox terrier), Rosita (the chihuahua who herded cows), Nipper (the sheltie/terrier and iconic sidekick on my guided hikes), Farrah (a white cocker spaniel we named after actress Farrah Fawcett), and Sam (a lovable beagle who loved riding around our property in our son’s red wagon).”

Peppered with charming colour photos, the book may induce a few tears, it will also make you laugh out loud and smile at the classic memories; perhaps even more so if the reader is a dog owner and a dog lover, able to relate to the many antics and encounters shared during the inevitably short lifetime that comes with sharing time with a canine.

But whether a dog lover or not, the vignettes are relatable and real, and provide a glimpse of the wonders being with a pet can bring to humans, and the meaning of life generally.

Sprague talks about how Christie was always the star of the show (and is certainly the star of the book), recognized and acknowledged often before Sprague, whether they were shopping together, or attending an event or sharing a walk.

The book showcases Christie’s every day life with recollections, anecdotes, encounters as he shares memories of the special bond that developed between the two right from the outset when they first set eyes on each other.

He describes in detail the walks and explorations, sharing in the many discoveries, behaviours, adventures and finds along the way, even camping together, sharing experiences, highlighting an ever-growing emotional bond.

The idea of the book is to have the stories live on in some meaningful way, and for Christie’s (and Sprague’s) many followers to be able to share a little slice of what life was like for the inseparable duo, as they gracefully aged together – and maybe it also benefits others in some small way.

“I want to preserve and share my memories of Christie, our times together on walks, cuddling close beside me in bed, and always giving me inspiration from her basket as I worked on my computer.”

He goes on.

“I need to tell our story, how we found each other. That we not only loved each other, but were inseparable, and how we both suffered terribly from separation anxiety,” he says. I need to share these stories so that these wondrous memories are not lost to the passage of time.”

But he is quick to say that compiling and writing the book brought about a roller coaster ride of emotions.

“There were some twists and turns, sudden jolts, even a couple of loop-de-loops. Through it all, there were laughs, a few tears, a whirlwind of feelings that left me emotionally drained.”

He believes, perhaps, that by sharing the story, he can instill an even greater appreciation that makes owning a dog so special, and the very unique relationships that exist, and the importance too of getting it right, “and, in some small way, thereby eliminate the abuse of pets that we read about so much in the media”.

Christie’s life would be an eventful one, and her last few years brought some significant health challenges to be confronted and managed.

She contracted Lyme disease, accidentally ate mouse poison, had a malignant growth removed from her face, had “cherry eye”, she was seriously ill at age 10 with an unknown illness, and at age 13 almost died from pancreatitis.

“Christie recovered admirably from all of these ailments, but it was Cushing’s disease the following year that brought her to her knees.”

For Sprague, “Christie wasn’t just a dog, she was my whole world”.

As little as she was in size and stature (an 11-pound fur ball as he refers to her), Christie lit up her world and those in it, even those merely passing through for a few minutes, or meeting her for the first time, she somehow made an impression on most.

“Christie was a real dog-about-town pooch. She had become a socialite and she loved everybody.”

For those who saw her walking up ahead or racing toward them, they knew Sprague wouldn’t be far behind, or could be found at the end of her leash. She accompanied Sprague at events he attended or hosted, local stores knew her and welcomed her (most anyway), and she became the ultimate social media star.

“When she passed away, I received over 270 condolences on social media!” he notes. “Christie had become a celebrity around town and this was no truer than on social media where queries came in almost daily as to her welfare”.

Whether it was folks enquiring how she was, wishing her a happy birthday, or simply enjoying the photos Sprague was posting of their walks and frequent escapades, Sprague was in awe of how such a little dog had such a big impact on the community.

But she was there when her person needed her most.

“We were so strongly bonded, it was as though we were a single entity and that bond grew even tighter after my wife, Nola, passed away in 2018,” he recalls. “Whenever I became depressed as I tried making sense of the bitterness and anger in today’s world, Christie became my confidante, someone who I could hug and talk to, and she would make everything right again. Dogs have a way of penetrating one’s very soul.”

At first, Christie was meant to be his wife’s furry companion.

The small shih tzu was eight months old when it came to his life, or rather Nola’s life, as a pet for company when he was off walking, doing his guided hikes and the like. He made it clear at the time that it was to be his wife’s dog, as he was still mourning the loss of his dog Nipper just a month prior and wasn’t ready to embark on another, yet.

As it turned out, Nola was only Christie’s person for about a week before the fur ball and Sprague became buddies.

Walking, and they were long walks too, especially in the early years when both were a bit younger and a bit more agile, formed a big part of life together. While many of those walks took place right here in the County, they extended to places beyond, such as Presqu’ile Park or Campbellford’s Ferris Park.

“In our 14 years together, every trail in every conservation area and provincial park between Brighton and Kingston bore our footprints,” he notes, adding many trails were walked several times, all of them between four and six kilometres in length.

On the biggest trail of them all, the County’s Millennium Trail, Christie and her human companion, clocked a serious number of steps, and kilometres, over the years, and she was always off leash, loose to roam at will, except when crossing busy roads because as Sprague puts it, “this was to be her hike, her adventure, this allowed her to explore on her own and savour all sights and odours as they presented themselves.”

Christie with Stacy at Picton Home Hardware. – Terry Sprague photo

He recalls the pup loved people – especially those who seemed to carry an infinite supply of treats in their pockets. This was no truer than at Picton Home Hardware explains Sprague, and her visits there every Tuesday were met with great enthusiasm as Christie soon learned to recognize the large store sign on the building and would eagerly seek it out as they drew near.

With that in mind, a book launch meet and greet with Sprague is planned for Tuesday, Aug. 20, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Picton Home Hardware. This store was chosen as it, and the staff, was Christie’s favourite, and the day of the week, Tuesday, was the day Sprague and Christie would most often visit. Sprague says the event is “a chance for dog owners to bring in their pets, and we’ll just talk dogs!”

His self-published book, The Two of Us, can be also purchased at Books and Company, The Local Store, Printcraft, and Carson’s Garden and Market, as well as from the author directly at naturestuff.net/web/books