The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Dog Heaven

Dog Heaven
        There is a picture book by Cynthia Rylant called Dog Heaven. It outlines what heaven is like for our canine friends. Of course, fields to run in and treats to eat and attention...it's all in abundance in dog heaven...

        Annie was a heavenly dog. She never had an accident in the house. She never chewed up anything. She never begged for table scraps. She was here on earth just to love and be loved...

         She was high maintainence, however. Chronic ear infections had forced her original family to give her up when Annie was 8. A couple of deep ear cleanings---after many ear infections and vet visits---resulted in expensive ear drops and a life of yeast-free food. No pizza crusts. No store-bought dog biscuits. Her treat every night at 8:00 was half of a raw carrot. (And she knew exactly when 8:00 struck, although she'd start pleading her case around 7; it just got quite frantic the closer it got to treat time.)

         Soft, silky puppy fur, even when she was a 14-year old senior. Ears that were mostly deaf due to years of ear infections. Eyes that were cloudy and mostly-blind from cataracts, but she could still see people across the street, and then she leaped into action. A loud, deep bark that made her sound like she was a much bigger dog---paired with her front legs rising off the ground repeatedly in her earnestness--caused the neighbor kids to recoil and call her "a monster." Little did they know that she was literally all bark and no bite. Once you came into the house, you would get a paw---she loved to shake---or a rear end bumping into you (so you could be prodded into scratching her butt) or she'd shove her head under your dangling hand, as if to say, 'Pet me!  And since you have two hands, you can pet me in two different places!'

         Annie only failed in two ways in the six years we had her. One, she refused to chase a ball. We could never entice her to "retrieve."  We had to adopt Foley to get a dog that was obsessed with playing ball.

         And her final failure...She didn't go on her own. She needed a nudge. But that was just like her---always wanting to be around her people...



            Annie...I know you're chasing rabbits and squirrels through a green, grassy field right now and tonight at 8, you'll get as many carrots as you can eat!

        


       

10 comments:

  1. What a sweet eulogy for sweet and special Annie. I'm so sorry you had to say goodbye....

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  2. Oh Sioux. What a wonderful tribute to a very special friend. She'll be there waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge.

    *sniff*

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  3. I have so many tears in my eyes right now I can barely see to type this. Have fun in Doggy Heaven sweet Annie.

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  4. My heart goes out to you as you deal with your sadness, mourning and loss. Annie sounds like she was here just for YOU, Sioux.

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  5. Becky--Thanks. Annie WAS a sweet dog.

    Fireblossom---Thank you. I know that I'll see Annie again, but in the meantime, she's hanging with Lady and Jen-Jen and Megan and Elmo and Buttons...

    Janel--Thanks for reading about Annie. Yes, I'm sure she's having fun right now, and her arthritis is gone.

    Linda--Thanks. Annie loved everyone she met--she was just a great dog.

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  6. Sioux - How blessed you and Annie were to have found each other. I'm sorry for your loss; but of course, she will never really leave you.

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  7. Sioux, an extra special thank you for organizing the writing activities on Saturday. Thanks for sharing about your beloved Annie too. You probably have many stories you could write about her. Maybe another children's book in the future?

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  8. Lisa---Thanks. Of course you're right. Once they've carved a place in our heart, they're there forever.

    Barb--It was fun to do, and so easy...I don't think I've got a book about Annie waiting in the wings, but perhaps an anthology piece or two?

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  9. Sioux -- I cry with you. I'm so sorry. But, you gave her so much love in her last years (as she gave to you the same). She will always be in your heart. I know mine are -- even the ones I had as a child. They're always there ... waiting for us in our hearts.

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  10. She sounds so much like my dog! God bless her. And you. Just remember that heaven wouldn't be heaven without them.

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