May 22, 1999 -- May 30, 2009
This is probably a first -- a dog eulogy in a blog designed for cats. But hey, it’s my blog, and I can do whatever I want. People who aren’t pet lovers won’t care about this, and you who are will identify, and not think this is weird. Again -- my blog, don’t care.
Lily was a fill-in-the-void pet for a 19-year-old cat named Muppet who had died. Which reminds me of an amusing moment at the veterinary clinic. The vet asked the name of the new puppy, I said it was “Lily Rose” named after a distant relative (which we do with most of our pets), and the vet began laughing. She said, “I’m afraid to ask about your Aunt Muppet!!”
Anyway, little did I know how similar the personality traits were between cat and dog. Good thing I don’t believe in reincarnation, or I’d think that Muppet had transmigrated into Lily -- at least as far as the paranoid and needy qualities go. I was really not quite prepared for her type of personality because our other dog, Sophie, behaved like a grownup mellow dog from the time she was 6 months old. Lily was anxiety-ridden from Day 1 and stayed that way for her full 10 years. Her anxiety issues led her to destroy in a frenzy anything in the house, whenever we left her sight. It took ME 4 years to consider crate training. It then took LILY only a couple of weeks (she was much smarter than me) to kick the destructive habits. Not the actual anxieties, mind you, but she stopped shredding the house. It’s a pity we can’t crate train our children and spouses, isn’t it?
Lily was a Shih-Tzu/mini-Schnauzer mix. And that little Shih-Tzu tail never stopped whirling with joy, even while lying flat out on her back in total relaxation. It was also clear that she would eat almost anything, including things that weren’t edible, but we won’t go there now. She’d eat almost anything I’d put in a tossed salad, except for black olives. I dropped one in her ever-open mouth once and she looked at me with a “how-could-you” face and literally spit it 3 feet across the room. Now, who would tolerate that from kids and spouses?
Lily had an exceptionally cute method of begging. She’d sit up in perfectly-balanced “meerkat” fashion, eyes bugging with desire, eyebrows pinched together with fear of deprivation, and quivering lower jaw. Who can resist that? And who would let kids and spouses get away with that?
We brought her home very young, about 7 weeks. We were told she would sleep on her mother’s back. Sophie wasn’t thrilled with that arrangement, so I would let her sleep, belly up, in my arms. Again, not for kids and spouses. But Sophie was a very tolerant sister/mom. Being much bigger than Lily, and with long chin fur, she unwittingly became a Worlds-of-Fun ride for Lily, who would stretch up her head, grasp the Sophie whiskers, and literally dangle and whirl off the ground from Sophie’s face. My husband has chin whiskers, and although I’ve begged, never would he allow me to entertain myself in this way.
Oh yes, the most important bonding occurred between me and Lily at 4 months. It’s called shopping. I wanted my child to be impeccably dressed. Sophie would never submit to that at all, and really, I did it only once for Lily. I went to a Build-A-Bear Workshop and bought a silver fairy-princess dress, complete with wand, and sewed wings on the back of the dress. (I don’t sew at all, so you can see how smitten I was.) Then I entered her in a Best Dressed Dog contest, and of course, she won, and she reveled in the win, prancing all over the stage, gathering ooohs and aaahhhs from everyone. After all, what’s cuter -- old ugly dog with a pig nose strapped on, or Lily Rose in a dress? Big stupid-looking dog in a Superman cape, or Lily Rose with wings? I could go on, but I won’t. Except to say, what child or spouse would encourage this method of bonding?
Well, I suppose I should not continue with 10 years of darling stories, or even end it with what eventually did her in. Except to say, that her appetite never stopped. She had a full dinner the same evening her health declined, her tail still whirled upon seeing us, and she was oh-so-happy to go for that final car ride.
And as a final thought, I pray that when my last day comes, even though I may not have an appetite for food, that God will grant me tail-twirling happiness to be with those surrounding me, and even more joy to be heading off for my final ride, knowing Who waits for me.
