Missy!

I feel like I must write about her. Perhaps if I do it will ease some of the pain I feel. I know it will not help my son, and I so wish I could help him. She belonged to him and she was so in love with him it was a joy to see. Oh, she loved me too, but it was more of a tolerated love because I was her caretaker so very many times when her guy had to make a trip for a few days. The first day or two she did not want to share herself with me, because she just knew he would be coming back through the door any minute and she stood faithfully there waiting for it to happen. When it did not, she then knew it was time to accept my lap and wait patiently for his return. I was the one feeding her now and taking her outside so she accepted the fact he was gone for a while. At bedtime she cuddled up on her pillow and lay quietly by my side. During the next few days she was fine, but would go occasionally to take a sniff at the door. When he did return it was a joyous reunion. It was bouncing and face licking all over the place. It was crouching down and jumping. It was whining to say, "I knew you would come back!" She was five years old when he got her and he had her for thirteen and a half years. What a smart little girl she was. We know she understood every word we said and reacted accordingly. I have to laugh when I look back and remember some of the things she did. When my husband was alive, he sat quite often is his recliner chair. We would put her in his lap when we were running errands and say to her, "You stay with grandpa now!" It got so when we left we would just say to her, "Go see grandpa." Well that little girl was just so upset. She knew we were leaving and she had to wait for us to return. Her head would go down and she walked slowly over to grandpa's chair, turn to look at us, then hop up on his lap and put her head down so she would not look at us. I know the things she did were not much different than anyone elses dog, but don't we all feel that our dog is the smartest? Little Missy was a toy poodle and everywhere we went she attracted attention. Everyone wanted to pet Missy. Her groomers loved her because she was so good and behaved so well. Her veterinarian called her sweet names and hugged her when she had to go in. Yesterday my son had to make a choice of whether to put her to sleep or keep her for a while, just so he could have her for a while longer. He unselfishly chose to let her go. She was blind, deaf, had heart and kidney problems, and had doggy Alzheimer's. She did not know where she was and got lost inside the house. She bumped into walls and stood still just facing furniture and not moving. When she did move she roamed aimlessly throughout the house and would either bump into things or get stuck where she could not get out. Most of the time she slept and slept. We had to pick her up and show her where her food and water were. She would go outside to potty and start to scratch herself and would fall down. A couple of times before we could get to her to grab her she fell off the steps. All this frightened her as we could feel her little heart beating so very fast. Our Missy is gone now, but she still remains with us and will for a while. She will always be in our hearts. If you have ever owned and loved a dog, then you know how we feel. Dogs give you unconditional love and they are forgiving and loyal. They make you feel like you are someone special and if you love your pet, then you will treat it special also. It will return your love a thousand fold!