Puppy Love

I remember when my mom first told me we might be getting a dog.  Turns out an employee of my dad had a dog with a new litter.  I remember coming home from school that day, and bragging to everyone on the bus about how I was getting a puppy that day.  I don't remember if I had to run home or if mom met me at the bus stop, but I remember playing with that little playful black thing out in the backyard that day.  It was one of the best days of my life, I'm sure.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table, getting really mad at Elizabeth because I wanted to name the puppy midnight or ebony (I was really creative) or lightening because of the white strip on her chest.  I remember when mom picked the name Maysie, I kinda hated it, but I didn't care because I had a puppy (but I did grow to love it, and the fact that she didn't have a regular "dog" name).

I remember holding Maysie in my little kid arms.  I remember her being small enough to do that.  I remember taking her to KYAL (the softball fields) and her shivering, and I had to wrap her up in a blanket.  I refused to put her down because it was cold out, and I was pretty convinced that sneaking her most of my cheese fries would keep her warm.

I remember that dog wreaking havoc in my neighborhood and in my house.  I remember the day she got my dad's steak off the counter and ate the whole thing (I wasn't sure she would survive that one), and I remember when Beth and I fed her a whole cake because we messed it up, and she got really sick.  Whoops!  I remember watching our dog sprint out of our yard, across traffic, get calls from the neighbors, and can assure you that she was one hyperactive puppy.

I even remember taking her for a walk (on either Thanksgiving or Easter) with her retractable leash.  That dog saw another dog or person or something she wanted, and she WENT AFTER IT.  Somehow she wrapped her leash around the neighbor's tree, and then it happened.  THE MOMENT.  As she circled the tree so did the leash.  As she continued to run, the leash followed.   I remember watching it slingshot around the tree, and land itself conveniently right in my neighbor's dining room window in horror.  I think I just stood there frozen and crying as everyone came out of the house furious about the broken window.  Whoops.

I remember trying to sneak Maysie upstairs just so she could snuggle in my bed with me when I had a bad day.  I remember when we got the electric fence, which for so long seemed like a lost cause because she broke through pretty much everyday, but once she got it we could throw the ball and run with her and play with her outside as much as we wanted to.

On the one hand, I can not believe that dog lasted 16 years.  I can not believe that she held on for as long as she did even though every time I saw her she looked older, breathed harder, and was having an increasingly harder time getting around.  I can not believe that for the first time in his life, my kid brother is going to have to live without her.  I can not believe that when I go home for Thanksgiving that the old girl won't be there.  One the one hand I am very thankful and relieved, both for the 16 good years we had her for, and that she is not struggling anymore.  And while I thought that I was ok with it and ready, I feel the sadness in my heart, and know that right now our family is not whole anymore. 

But I am still so grateful.  She was a great dog, and survived a lot (both in my life and hers).  And I know that she was an amazing comfort to me during some of my most difficult times.  I will miss her, and will always remember her for having a great life and being a very real part of my family.