This picture is from when I took Cleo to the dog park the other week. I love it because it reveals just how eager she is. All she wants to do is make friends with everyone and play!
Tag: pets
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saturday morning
I got myself out of bed this morning around 8:45 a.m. because the sun was shining on my face and I was hot. I don’t think I would have awoken but for those two things. I love sleeping in, and that’s why I love Saturdays the best. Cleo sleeps with me every night, and not just at the foot of the bed, either. She likes to burrow underneath the covers for awhile, then comes out, only to burrow again awhile later. I like this little pattern we have together. This morning as soon as I got out of bed she moved into my spot. She thinks she owns this bed. I would say she’s going to get a rude awakening when we move in with David, but I think she’ll be too distracted eating all the treats, playing with other dogs, and chasing the cat around the house to even notice me.
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Monday Morning
Cleo doesn’t want to get out of bed either, and I don’t think she’s too happy that I turned the light on!
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Goodbye, Molly
Dear Molly,
I saw you for the last time last night. You looked the same as usual, except that your eyes seemed a little glazed, and you couldn’t get up to greet me. You tried, but due to a stroke, an aneurysm, or some other explanation, your back legs just wouldn’t work anymore. So I came to you.
I remember when we got you. You were a stray, found by a friend who couldn’t keep you. According to the vet, you were about four or five years old at the time. I was 14 and I loved you immediately. You were smooth and soft and sweet. For years I tried to make you love me the best. I always thought that if I were stranded on a desert island and could only have one thing with me, I would pick you.
Not long after, we took in another stray dog named Max. He was a wild one, but lovable. He was a bad influence on you. The two of you together liked to barrel through the front door any chance you got, then run around the neighborhood until we chased you down and trapped you. One morning when I was in high school I was the last person to leave in the morning. My ride to school arrived, I was loaded down with bags to carry, and I accidentally allowed you to escape. In my rush I let you go because you had always come back before.
It wasn’t the best decision I ever made, because when I got home from school that day there was a message on our answering machine from an irate neighbor which said, “Your DOGS just KILLED my CAT…AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!!!” I can still hear the words in my mind today. You and Max didn’t know you were hurting the poor cat, you just wanted to play. I thought we were going to have to get rid of you after that, but my dad was too much of a softie.
Another time I came home from school and I was met with a broken window and huge pools of blood all over the carpet. I followed the trail up the stairs, all over the couch, to my brother’s bed where you were, weak and trembling. You had gotten so excited at something outside that you had broken through the window and cut an artery. It was a scary time, but we got you fixed up. And after a lot of scrubbing, the carpet looked somewhat clean as well.
Max died a few years ago, and since then you have reverted to your calm, sweet self. Not that you weren’t always sweet even with him around, but when you were alone we could leave the front door open and you would come back whenever we called. My dad always said that just petting you lowered his blood pressure. You had a fun life with Max, and when he went I think part of you went too. Since then you liked to lie on your couch, lie on your bed, occasionally look out the window under the piano, sunbathe by the patio, and not much else.
Despite your frail appearance, you kept hanging in there. We were even able to take you on a drive to South Carolina the Christmas before last, to meet your cousins. In recent days, when I brought Cleo over to visit it was like you didn’t know what to do with this new crazy little thing running around. I think part of you wanted to play like you used to, and you always seemed more active around her. But you didn’t quite have the energy or the stamina, and you would eventually just plop back down with a look of wisdom.
Every time I visit my parents, which is often, I look forward to seeing your head pop up behind the sofa. I look forward to the thump thump of your tail when you see me. I even look forward to the tapping of your nails on the wooden floor as you move from your bed to your couch and back. I’m sure I will still look and listen for these things the next time I visit. It will take me some time to realize that you’re gone.
You were with us for twelve years. You were much older than dogs of your size usually live. So when I got the call last night that you weren’t doing well, I wasn’t surprised, but I was deeply saddened. I knew I had to see you one more time. David drove me over to visit, and as soon as we got to the house, I curled up with you on your bed. I scratched your belly because it always did itch you, but now your paralyzed legs couldn’t scratch it. I kissed you behind your ears, which was always my favorite spot. I whispered for only you to hear, “I love you, Molly. You’re the best there ever was.” Then we left.
This morning, my parents did the hardest thing for a pet owner to do, but it was time. They stayed with you while you went to sleep for the last time, and cried their eyes out. You were a part of our family. We all loved you very much.
I already miss you. Goodbye, sweet girl.
Love,
Me -
Thoughts From the Week
There has been a lot I’ve wanted to write about this week, but the reason I haven’t is because it seems I’ve been gone from morning till night every day since Tuesday. And I’m not the type of person who can or will sacrifice sleep for much of anything. Thus, all of my blogging thoughts are swimming around in my head, and if I don’t put them down NOW, they just might be lost forever. So this may seem somewhat unorganized and random, and that’s because it is.
I’ll start with the big news in my little family circle, which is that my fiance David’s older brother Chris proposed to his girlfriend Kim on Wednesday evening. We are all so excited that they have made it official! They plan to elope to the west coast in June, and I won’t deny that I am somewhat jealous of that decision as I figure out who gets to stay on our guest list and exactly how many dollars we are going to pay for a photographer. But really, I want the whole shabang and I guess I always have, so I’ll just try to enjoy the process. Anyway, the point is: congratulations, Chris and Kim, I’m so excited to be your sister (in-law)!
Speaking of them, David is currently living in a house that Chris owns, and the four of us have decided that we will all live together there once we’re married. I know that may sound crazy to some people, but we get along great, have already spent a lot of time there together, and it will save us a lot of money for awhile. It does mean that I will have to cut back on the amount of “stuff” that I bring into the marriage (i.e. furniture), and I still don’t know what to do with some things that I can’t get rid of, like all my books. Also, my lease ends in July and for the few months after that until we get married I’ll be moving in with my parents. So I’ll need to be getting rid of my bed, desk, bedside table, and dresser pretty soon.
While we’re on the subject of life-changing events, I picked up my cap and gown the other day. Two weeks until I’m wearing it! My last final exam is on Monday!
I’ve been working a lot lately, and since I am the queen of busy work at the office it tends to get boring. That is why I am forever grateful to David for procuring me a satellite radio. Now I can listen to NPR all day! Just kidding, only about half the day. I admit I do enjoy the occasional E! Channel program. That is how I came to learn all about FHM’s sexiest woman alive list that was just released. I normally wouldn’t comment on this, but I feel obligated because two of the dancers from Dancing with the Stars made the list (Cheryl Burke at no. 40 and Karina Smirnoff at no. 78) but my favorite, Julianne Hough, did not. My roommates and I all totally have a girl crush on her, and I just don’t understand her getting passed over. So here’s to you, Julianne!
And I will leave you with this happy thing: a very short video of my brothers’ puppy’s latest trick:
