OCT. 1986-SEPT. 16, 1999
I can't even image our lives without you. You have been such a large part of our lives for 13 years. You were always there when any of us needed a special friend. You will be loved and missed forever. We want to thank you for wandering into our yard as that little pup, barely old enough to be away from her mother.
13 years ago this November the
neighbor children went to the carnival and they came home with
a cute little puppy. Well a puppy
did not fit into their parent's lifestyle and thus you were turned
out to fend for yourself. Perhaps you came to us since we had
3 other dogs at the time and we had "sucker" written
on our door. Or maybe it was fate! You were without a doubt the
easiest puppy to housebreak and teach about the "no chewing"
rule in our house-we did not lose anything major from your puppyhood,
only a few shoes and socks and a rubber maid pitcher! We will
never forget you as a puppy. Your favorite thing to do was to
play in the hole that Spotty dug when it was full of water. Here
you are pictured in your swimming and mud hole when it was dry.
You
had one really bad habit-you were the most demanding dog we have
ever met. When you wanted something you usually got so pushy you
got your way-this usually involved food, as you loved to eat.
You also got very grumbly if anything or anyone got too close
to you and your food. Here you are saying it is mealtime-"Feed
Me Now!" When we didn't move fast enough you would take your
paw and turn your bowl over and over and over, grumbling the entire
time until you got your meal.
You
definitely thought of yourself as a human baby. You needed protection.
When someone would come to the door all of the other dogs would
run to the door and bark-you would run from the door and want
reassurance that you would be ok! You also thought that beds were
made for you and at times sharing with you was quite difficult
as you liked the middle and you also liked to put your head on
the pillow!
I
dread this Christmas without you. Christmas was your favorite
time of year. It proved to be quite challenging for us though.
You were like a small child-unable to stay out of the packages.
You would open every package if we allowed it. Sometimes you didn't
even care what was inside-just opening packages excited you and
the way you went about it caused everyone to laugh.
That
brings me to Wrinkles and you. I never knew that 2 dogs could
be such good buddies. She will be fine, we will take extra good
care of her since you aren't here to comfort her and give her
that constant reassurance that she is really loved and wanted.
You seemed to realize that she came from this awful background
and you stuck by her ever since we rescued her back in 1989. This
photo was taken about 3 months before we lost you. You and Wrinkles
must have been talking about something very important. I just
happened to have my camera in hand and caught you two together
as you often were.
One thing I regret not having a photo of is you mothering a litter of kittens. That seemed to be your calling in life-to be a mother and since you never had puppies of your own-any puppy or kitten that you saw, you tried to become an instant mother to. I hope at the Bridge you can help mother the little kittens and puppies as that will make you happy and provide other animals with some love and affection. Stay sweet my Nip-We miss you so much and we love you dearly!
Sept. 21, 1999
