After years of unsuccessful tomato growing near a walnut tree (which makes the soil unworkable for nightshades like tomatoes and eggplants) I was so pleased by my six healthy tall tomato plants I grew last summer in a raised bed. That was until the ripest cherry tomatoes and most perfect red and yellow big tomatoes started disappearing. Chipmunks, squirrels or rabbits – all who live in our backyard — were possible culprits.
But then I caught the real tomato thief, our beagle Bebe, who had managed to climb into the bed and quietly bite off a tomato, clearly considering it her own personal tomato buffet. This year, we had a talk (I think a lot of our neighbors know me as the woman who talks to her beagle) and I planted the tomatoes. She dug them up. I tried red pepper flakes. She dug them up again. Only when I put the water hose that she does not like dangling on the side of the garden bed did she leave them alone. Then she climbed into the raised bed with herbs to assess the situation.
As frustrated as I was, I can’t be mad. I know someday I’ll miss that mischievous tomato thief, who is now 12 years old. Just like I feel about my childhood dog, a welsh terrier named Sesame. There is something so simply beautiful about the love between a person and a dog. This week, we bring you "To All the Dogs We’ve Loved." I hope it helps you if you’ve lost a dog, or if you too have a delightful friend digging up the plants in your backyard.
–Shannon