mourning our little spotted dog

saying good-bye

Six years ago she showed up at our house in the arms of an old friend.  Six years she's followed us on all sorts of adventures, including, but not limited to flood evacuation, boating, camping, moving to the city, cross-country road trips to an even bigger city.  We always knew that she would eventually bow out of more adventures, but we sure wish it hadn't been yesterday.  

She's always been Brian's dog.  A four-legged angel, I called her once.  We hugged her and kissed her and cried tears on her black, white and brown speckles as we said good-bye to her in the veterinary office.  I will not miss her bad breath, but I will miss her soft ears and the way she made us behave like silly kids instead of grown-ups for at least a few minutes every day.  

Perhaps, what I'll miss most is the special sort of smile she brought to my husband's face.  She was pretty worn out from illness when he held her yesterday, but she did manage to respond to Brian.  She licked his face which we haven't seen her do for a really long time.  I think it might have been right after he said, "You've been with us right when we needed you most."

Good-bye little adventure companion.  We will miss you around here.  

I'm only realizing now how often Duchess turns up in the stories I tell at this site.  Want to see for yourself?

• a four-legged angel: our first impressions
• a story of a dog, part 1:  the hair-raising first night in our new home upon which Duchess ran away
• a story of a dog, part 2: how we got her back
• Murphys take Austin: and Duchess gets a seat upgrade
• 7 Quick Takes: Duchess stays around long enough to launch Brian's preaching career

Brian and Duchess at Treman Park, Ithaca, 2009