Sometimes its just fun to post something that has nothing to do with real estate. Since dogs are one of my passions, a friend sent me this story in an email:
An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed
belly that he had a home. He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner.
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.
The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour.
This continued for several weeks.
Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:
"He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"
This story reminded me of Humphrey. My mother frequently referred to his antics as “the saga of Humphrey.” Humphrey was a very large Newfoundland who lived next door to us in our family home in Gedney Farms of White Plains. He was a sweet and gentle dog – which was fortunate given his super-sized body of 140 lbs. In spite of his sheer size, Humphrey was extremely deft and agile escape artist and managed to defeat pretty much every enclosure his owners contrived for him. I realized this early on when I came home from school and found him on the wrong side of his fence in another neighbor’s back yard.
Over the next year or so Humphrey always seemed to be on the go. I often wondered where he spent most of his time. It was pretty obvious he had places to go and things to do, and people to visit. He developed a close relationship with the local police who kept picking him up when they found him wandering the streets. For a while he was almost the station mascot. His owners told us that on one occasion the police left him in a room full of those orange cones that are used to direct traffic flow. Apparently, Humphrey ate one of the cones and the owners had to pay for its replacement. He was a regular visitor at our home where he feasted on dog biscuits and table scraps with our German Shepherd and would relax on the front porch.
One memorable night I came home quite late. It was dark in the garage and as I got out of the car, something grabbed me by the throat with tremendous force. I screamed at the top of my lungs and my mother called the police. I thought I was being assaulted for maybe ten seconds. Then I realized it was an awfully hairy hand that had grabbed me. That’s right – it was Humphrey who was delighted to see me and wanting his snack. 
The secret life of Humphrey revealed itself over time. The neighbor in back of us told the story of a great big black dog that used to visit her daily. She provided him with biscuits, leftovers and water and he would relax in her home for about an hour a day – take a snooze and move on. Later, I was talking to another neighbor about four blocks away. I mentioned the large Newfoundland living next door. She immediately perked up and said “Oh, you aren’t talking about Humphrey are you? He visits me every day! He liked to relax in the house and take a nap.” In retrospect, Humphrey may have been motivated by a need to relax. After all, he was a focal point in a family of three very lively boys. He was remarkably patient while the baby would sit on his back and pull his hair. Bland and gentle, he was the picture of placid good nature, But though he loved his family, perhaps all of his antics were just an attempt to get away from it all for some peace and quiet. Once refreshed and fortified, he could return to his “primary family” fortified and ready to take on anything the boys could throw at him. Clever dog.
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