Drank a cup o' reality at 8:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 05, 2005
It's been a week.
Mom came up to me and said, "Spunky honey, the thing of it is, you can't get to do beginnings if you aren't willing to be a part of the endings. All of the happiness and excitement has a flipside, too." As always she was right.
So, last Wednesday- in front of the fireplace, on her favorite blankets, with Bessie the Corgie decidedly avoiding the situation- Mom, Dad, Lisa the Vet and I gathered to tell "Tippy the Best Labrador West of the Rockies" that she was a good dog-the best we could have hoped for and we love her one last time. After being a member of the Spunky family for almost 16 years, practically from the day she was born, she left us. It was peaceful, quiet and there were lots and lots of tears-- I couldn't look at my dad because I knew he was crying too.
And I know that now she is someplace where her hips work so she can go for long walks and race up and down the stairs; she can go out and get the mail and newspaper all day long if she wants; now she is strong enough to crush as many tennis balls as she can find and chew out the squeakers of every toy she's given; and she can play tug and bark at the neighbors until her bark is hoarse. But, I can't help but feel that something is really missing in the house now.
I kept walking past her spot in front of the fireplace expecting to see her watching me with her best "come pet me" look. All there was was her pink blanket and a basket of toys that have grown dusty waiting for her to "get better."
The thing is, Tippy just couldn't get better and the tought of her getting worse isn't what we would want for ourselves... At Thanksgiving, Mom asked if I wanted a picture with Tippy and I said no because I don't want to remember her like that.
I want to remember her when she was young, spry and eager walking in the house with a mouth full of mail and this look of pride on her face. I want to remember her rolling around on her back squeaking the living daylights out of that plastic Woodstock toy! I want to remember her taking a nap in the sunshine on the back deck with me! She was our bionic dog- surgery on both hips and a new knee. Tippy was the best dog ever.
Eventually, like Daisy before her, the toys will be put away, the blanket washed and folded, and the fur vaccumed up... why is it that the thought of Tippy Fur not being all over everything makes me cry more?
It is like an era has ended.
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Old Married Lady
And now, I'm old enough for that. - Thursday, Mar. 10, 2005
I don't get it! - Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005
Stardom - Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005
many neuroses - Saturday, Feb. 05, 2005
the week of missed connections - Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005
Miss Spunky is:
a 25 year old English teacher currently on an extended adventure in Minnesota, searching for a good man with a big... truck!
I love:
My students, excessive amounts of coffee, Baja Fresh and a good hockey game.
I dislike:
Ignorance, mosquitoes, and people who write in IM and/or grammar so poor that it is clear that they are lazy. IM is LAZY, LAZY do you hear me???