Farewell, My Friend

It has been a tough week.  My dearest companion and confidant of 16 years, my heating pad, my joy and my love died this past Monday.  Some may say she was only a dog but I would have to say she was the wiener the world (she was a dachshund) awaited and I was lucky enough that she chose me to spend her time with.

It is funny how animals get to that spot in your heart that humans cannot reach.  Maybe they get to that place through their continuous comical antics or the way they cock their heads as to fully comprehend what you are saying to them.  It could be the “happy to see you even though I have been cooped up in this house and really have to go outside but I will stop to say hello” welcoming when you get home.  Or the “I just want to be near you with no strings attached and no questions asked – except if you would like to feed me or scratch my back that would be nice” approach to love.  Whatever it is, my girl knew how to work my every angle and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I was told I spoiled her and I admit, I did.  Although bringing her on car adventures, filling her bed with baby blankets and letting her lounge in the sun doesn’t seem like much compared to the undeniable and unconditional love she gave back.  It could be the trips to Europe she accompanied me on (with six rides to the top of the Eiffel Tower, eating at some of the best tables in Germany and her latest adventures in Barcelona), complete with a specially designed travel case that might be confused with indulgence.

Her accomplished cosmopolitan flair and worldliness could be mistaken for arrogance and aloofness at times, but I knew she was from humble beginnings in a small town in Ohio and it was just her way.  She was our first “child” and exerted the power and expected the prestige of that preferred position throughout her lifetime.  Even when our human child arrived she made her place in the family hierarchy known.  Luckily for him, my son learned quickly who was the boss and respected his “sister” for her authority and was in awe of her way to snatch up treats quickly.

As our family expanded and two more puppies joined the fold, our alpha female retained the right of first sniff and held tight to her designated territory for eating and sleeping.  She reluctantly allowed them space in her house and shared the wealth of attention always knowing, though, she was the queen.  Sometimes, in a weak moment of hers I am sure, I would find all three of them together, inches apart, on the deck enjoying the sun, the view and each others company.

My foot-long wiener dog packed quite a punch and will leave a hole a mile wide in my heart.  I will miss her vacuum cleaner abilities of snarfling up the crumbs in the kitchen.  I will miss her uncanny capacity to keep my deepest and darkest secrets.  But it is the way she smiled and the way she played a joke that I think I will miss the most.  If you are an animal person, you know what I am talking about.  Farewell my friend, my Lady, I will always remember you.  Thanks for the memories.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-