To everything there is a season~
In a constantly changing world, there are some changes we
can count on and even plan for. In
Minnesota we experience the changing of seasons to an extreme. We northerners
take full advantage of the long hot days of summer and all it has to offer. We
know our time is limited to enjoy fresh foods like watermelon and corn on the
cob. We then look forward to the fall bringing a welcome change of cooler
weather as well as Mother Nature’s spectacular show of colors and we switch
from the carefree life of summer to the routine of back to school. Even the harshest winter has its moments of
beauty with fresh fallen snow and cozy warm fires inside, but many of us get
through just waiting for the spring and the re-birth of nature and our
spirits.
Life too has its seasons, and I have once again been
reminded of this. Two days ago, the
shared dog of my mom, dad and brother had to be put down at the age of 15. It doesn’t seem like that long ago when my
family and my parents were immersed into the spring season of our dogs. We each got a Bichon Frise puppy from the
same litter, sisters. Ours was named
Ellie and theirs Susie. They were
adorable little balls of fluff that could fit easily into the palm of your
hand. Just as in spring where everything
is new again, so is the world for a puppy.
While Susie and Ellie came from the same meager beginnings,
their lives soon took very separate turns as Susie came home to a quiet
household with only adults, and
immediately assumed her role as the princess of the house. Fed precisely at 5pm in a beautiful crystal
dish, she would quickly remind everyone if her dinner hour was approaching and
it didn’t look like anyone was preparing her feast. She had a remarkable internal clock, but was
always thrown for a loop when we went on or off daylight savings time. My mother found she loved to sleep in
luxurious nests created of pillows and blankets, so these were strategically
placed everywhere, the bedrooms, the family room and even under the grand
piano.
Her sister Ellie, however, came home to a house with three
children under 6 including a one year old.
While Susie was dining from crystal, I prayed every day I didn’t forget
to feed Ellie. I suppose it was my forgetting once or twice that prompted her
to hide food, just in case, as we once found pork chops hidden behind pillows
and my daughter found a corn dog tucked away in her bed. Just as I read books
to prepare for the children I found books dedicated to caring for our new puppy
and discovered that crate training was the preferred method of housetraining,
while my mom went the paper training route from years gone by. I suppose she was thankful for this when left
alone in their motor home; Susie climbed from the sofa to an end table and
relieved herself on the T.V. guide.
My cousin Leanne once told me that they make baby animals
so cute so we don’t kill them. I know
this to be true as I once looked down on the most adorable set of puppy eyes
looking up at me while lying next to a pair of chewed up Italian leather
shoes. The spring of a puppy is new for
everyone, they provide hours of entertainment as they discover the big new world
around them. And I, like so many before
me, got to test for myself the validity product claims such as the best stain
remover ever or the guaranteed indestructibility of a chew toy.
Before long both families found themselves enjoying the
summer life of a dog. Again their lives
took separate paths as Susie traveled from the ocean to the Grand Canyon with
my newly retired parents, she logged more frequent flier miles than many
adults. Ellie enjoyed the busy life at
home with kids. She learned valuable dog
life lessons like how lucrative life under the highchair could be and
sometimes, like after a pancake and syrup breakfast, licking the child itself
can be tasty. I too enjoyed the benefits
of having a furry little vacuum cleaner following the children around.
Ellie seemed to know just where she was needed and would
find her place curled up with a child home sick from school or eagerly waiting
for the large orange bus to drop them off so they could be properly greeted by
her. She patiently attended show and tell
and three 2nd grade “all about me’s” where each child dutifully
parades his family about and those lucky enough to have a pet receive rock star
treatment from their classmates as they show them off.
Each dog had her own unique personality. Ellie loved to cuddle and snuggle while much
to my mother’s chagrin Susie was just not cuddly. Susie had a basketful of toys which she would
empty daily and disperse throughout the house, much like a child, and Ellie’s
favorite toy was her colorful ball. She
would drop it at your feet, and if you didn’t notice she would bark until you
threw it. The game would end when I had
to finally hide the ball. I really think
that both girls felt as though they hit the doggie jackpot since during the
summer months my parents lived just a short distance from us. Sister visits were often and the excitement
started in the car about a mile from the others house and became just about
unbearable by the time they finally arrived.
I suspect they were eager to gossip about their people and share stories
of what they have been doing and where they have been.
By the autumn of their lives, each was firmly entrenched in
the lives of their family. Susie had
worked hard to train hers and did remarkably well I might add. As any good trainer would, she worked
patiently and consistently with her people to make sure they were ready with a
treat immediately upon her returning from the outside after doing her
business. To reinforce this behavior she
would periodically test them at 3am when she didn’t even need to go outside,
but would do so to make sure they had this down, and they did. Somehow she even trained them in inclement
weather to follow her around the yard with an umbrella sheltering her from the
rain. She also made sure the entire
family knew she was petrified of thunder, so if everyone was away and there was
the mere threat of a storm, a flurry of calls would be exchanged making sure
someone could hurry home to keep her company.
I’m sure if she could have harnessed her abilities as a trainer and
opened Susie’s School of People Training, dogs would have come from far and
wide to learn from her. Unfortunately
Susie was one of the shyest dogs there ever was.
I had unwittingly trained Ellie all by myself. After years of living with us, I realized one
day that each time I was in the kitchen and food dropped to the floor, I would
say “oh shoot”, which would bring her from wherever she was immediately to the
kitchen. It did come in handy when I
needed her to come to me, but a tad awkward at the park when everyone was
calling their dog and I was yelling “OH SHOOT”.
During her autumn years, Ellie was content to just sit peacefully
outside in the summer sun nose to the wind, just enjoying the smells of
summer. The one thing that could still
call her immediately to action was her ongoing feud with the chipmunk
family. Much like the Hatfield and McCoy’s
I’m guessing the chipmunks passed the story from generation to generation about
how they must torment the little white dog with their taunting chirps all the while
staying just out of her reach.
For Ellie winter came early. On a hot summer day in August 2005 when she
was only 8, we noticed yellowing of her eyes, skin and gums. We rushed her to the animal emergency room
and it was there that we learned that her kidneys and liver were failing. Although we would have paid anything to help
her no amount of money could prolong her life.
For a day that had starting out like any other, it soon became the worst
day of my life. I felt that I was in a position
of making a decision that no one other than God should have a say in. But not wanting my little girl to suffer or
have her leave this world alone, I made the decision to help her cross over
peacefully. I brought her home from the
vet to let the children say their goodbyes.
My parents came immediately to say goodbye, and I took her for one last
car ride. I looked into her eyes as she took her last breath because I wanted
her to leave this earth looking at someone she loved and not a stranger. It was
peaceful. I brought her home wrapped in a blanket inside a little box, and we
chose to bury her in the backyard she loved so much.
The next day was the first day of school for the kids and
we all set off with eyes swollen from crying.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I had made the wrong decision to even
bring a dog into our lives if this is how it turns out. Everything was
different now and no matter what we were doing something always reminded us of
our loss. They say time heals all wounds
and I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that as time passed we were
able to laugh and share funny stories rather than always be brought to tears when
we spoke of her.
We didn’t quite know how to help Susie deal with the loss,
but we were careful not to say Ellie’s name out loud in front of her as this
always brought excitement as she would look for her to appear. It took a long time after Ellie passed before
we could visit my parent’s house and Susie would not just continue to look at
the door waiting for her sister to come in.
We talked of getting another puppy, but I doubted that any
other dog would be able to fill the gaping hole left by their predecessor. Ellie
helped me through a divorce and the helped kids as I returned to work full time
after 12 years at home. It’s funny how such a little dog can have such a big presence;
she was our rock of Gibraltar. But as time wore on, our hearts became open to
the possibilities of puppy love once again. We talked but could never all come
to full agreement about the type of puppy to get, so for a time we remained
dogless. But seven months later, while
on our way shopping we decided to stop at a Humane Society. I have often wondered how people could share
their house with a dog the size of a small deer, as Ellie was only 10 pounds. I
told the representative that we were looking for a small dog that did not shed. She seemed to know just the dog we were
looking for. We soon were looking at a
cocker/lab mix. When I looked at this small dog I questioned the large paws
attached to it. She told me that those
were just “cocker paws” and I felt silly for asking. All of the kids immediately fell in love with
her and since cockers are small and don’t shed too much, I agreed and soon we
were on our way home with a new puppy.
Her first night home, she became terribly sick and again we
found ourselves rushing a dog to the animal emergency room. In an oddly familiar setting, we once again
got the bad news that our dog was critically sick. This time with parvo, a disease that most
puppies do not survive. After only
knowing her for a few short hours, we were in love and knew we had to do
whatever it took to help her make it through.
She did. When she was healthy
enough, we introduced her to everyone, and each would comment on her
exceptionally large paws. I stated
authoritatively that those were just cocker paws, and made them feel silly for
even asking. As she continued to grow
and grow, so did her once short hair. She
was about a year old when we learned that we did not have a cocker/lab mix
after all, but rather a Large Munsterlander.
A gorgeous large dog with extremely long flowing hair, which sheds
terribly.
I do not believe in coincidences and the fact that this dog
was nothing that I wanted but turned out to be everything I needed, was one very
well orchestrated plan and nothing short of a miracle. I was much too
short-sighted to have ever realized she was the dog for us. She is the most respectful dog ever and has
not yet met a person who hasn’t wanted to take her home.
As the first of the kids started leaving for college, it
may have been an attempt at keeping my nest full, but I decided that Callie the
Large Munsterlander needed a friend.
After a yearlong search, I did something no dog authority would
recommend, I drove to Iowa to adopt a dog I had only seen online. We were paired up with something similar to
an e-harmony type system for dogs and potential owners. After venturing to another state, my
daughter, Mandy and I came home with the most adorable yellow lab puppy you
have ever seen. I no longer question how
people can live with animals the size of small deer; in fact I now wonder how
people can live without them. Rocco, the
yellow lab is a therapy dog, and is wise beyond his years. He is a gentle soul of 90 pounds with a most unlikely
best friend.
Two years ago the cutest little 16 pound Rat Terrier joined
our family. Her owner also joined our
family as my new husband. As you can
imagine, it was out of the question for me to fall in love with someone who
didn’t love dogs! Managing our little pack can be busy at times, but it is also
brings us joy beyond belief.
While my dog family continued to grow and change, little
Susie continued to pluck along. Susie’s
life was an ongoing medical drama. She
had allergies to many foods and fabrics, had skin conditions and an eye problem
that involved a surgery in which she was supposed gain her sight back. Her daily routine involved special food,
powders, creams, and the required cute t-shirt preventing her from scratching
her skin.
As she grew older she was no longer able to handle
traveling South with my parents for the winter months. So she spent winters
under the loving care of my brother and his wife. She managed to navigate the house and yard
with complete lack of sight. She also lost her hearing but her nose continued to work just fine and she would magically appear as soon as an apple was being sliced.
Apples were the favorite treat of both her and her sister. I am convinced my dad would try to quietly
enjoy an apple every evening just to see if he could get it by her just one
time. He could not.
We often talked of the miracle dog that was Susie. With age and health against her, she was just
as sweet and loving as always. We knew
winter would come calling and hoped my parents would be back in Minnesota when
it did.
I got the message that the time had come and my mother,
brother and sister in law were at the vet after decided Susie would no longer
have to suffer after having what appeared to be a stroke. I was very proud of them making what was such
a hard decision for them, but the best for Susie. I arrived in time to be with my mother as she
held Susie while she took her last breath.
It was possibly the most peaceful thing I had ever seen.
Even in death the sisters took different paths. Ellie was snuggly buried in a box in her
backyard while Susie was cremated and her ashes placed in a beautiful mother of
pearl urn. It’s comforting to know that
the sisters are together once again sharing stories of what they have been
doing and where they have been
