She’s Gone.

Woman’s best friend. 

This old girl of mine saw me through 15 years of my life.  She was beside me through some tough times and some good ones.  Poverty.  Divorce.  Moving and having to get used to a new house (5 times).  Getting married again.  Having a baby.  Adopting cats that she was scared of (she was a bit of a wuss in her old age).

I drove 2-1/2 hours on Christmas Eve 15 years ago to the breeder’s house to pick up my new puppy.  I had desired a miniature dachschund for some time and had scrimped and saved and finally had enough to buy her.  She was my Christmas present to myself that year.  She was only 4 weeks old when I got her, and she literally fit into the palm of my hand, just a bit bigger than a newborn kitten.  It’s impossible to hold a precious puppy that small and not fall deeply madly in love with her. 

When she was younger, she would follow us all over the house.  If you went to the bathroom, she wanted to come in too and sit there by your feet until you were done.  If you wanted some privacy and shut the door behind you and didn’t let her in, she’d just sit outside the door in the hallway and wait for you to come back out! 

My husband still talks about the time years ago that he was sitting in the living room in a chair watching television and had a sandwich in his hand.  He was leaning forward sort of, knees bent, and had his hand dangling down between his knees when suddenly she raced up to him, grabbed the sandwich from his hand before he knew what to do, and ran away to eat it! 

She brought me so much joy.  I will miss my girl for the rest of my life…