It seems only fitting that it is grey and gloomy out as I take the time to write this. Actually, the truth of the matter is; it is Sunday morning, I am at a beach house in Bodega Bay, looking out at the stormy ocean through the fog, and watching a light rain fall. The family left early this morning to attend church, and I have a few hours of work to do outside...weather permitting of course. :) I almost feel guilty...almost. As it is, I needed some quiet, undisturbed time, to reflect on the events of this past week and our furry little friends that have all past on.
This past week, it was time to say goodbye to Nokia. For sixteen years, she has been Melanie's side kick. We note Nokia as Ian's dog, as he has grown up with her since he was a baby. Lucy, our Boston Terrier, is Aden's dog, as the two of them are about the same age. Remi, is Apollo's dog, which is fitting because he is so naughty!
Nokia has lived a long and happy life. It was the simple things that pleased her; retrieving any thing that you throw for her and never getting to the point where she had enough...Can you say "doggie OCD!" One of my favorite memories about Nokia, was how she loved to herd children. Any kid that walked by, would receive a little ankle bite, some times two or three, as they hurried to get away. This was horrifying for the unsuspecting child, and a great amount of pleasure for myself. Nokia never liked other dogs, including members of her own pack. She did tolerate Lucy, however, I am quite sure that she tolerated Lucy only for the fact that she was so submissive. Nokia loved to lay in front of the doggie door and not allow Lucy access to return into the house. She relished in the fact that Lucy would stand out in the snow all day, shivering, waiting for Nokia to move to let her in, and would never get into an altercation over it. Poor Lucy.
Nokia had started to slowdown this past year. We could tell that old age was sneaking up on her rather quickly. She had lost a lot of weight and began to eat less and less. She had started to show signs of pain when she would try to stand or walk. Still, she would have moments of being frisky, even up to the last couple weeks. The past month, she deteriorated quickly. When she could no longer eat, nor walk across the yard with out needing to lay down and rest along the way, Mel knew it was time. It is such a conflicting battle of emotions that takes hold in times such as these. One part of you does not want to let go, or say goodbye, yet, you know that they are suffering, and miserable. Still, it breaks your heart to let go.
It is far tougher when you lose one of your furry family members unexpectedly. By far, the one I have had the Hardest time with was Diego. He was such a proud little dog. He was a Chi-Pom, or Chihuahua, Pomeranian mix, and he looked like a little fox. Some how, this little dog carved out such a large place in our hearts, that, one and one half years later, I am still heartbroken and feel the void inside. Diego was so loyal and obedient, and so very smart. He shares the same birthday as Melanie, and I was begrudgingly talked into getting him, by Melanie, as wedding gift for her. Diego was present at our wedding, honey moon in Baja, and everywhere else we went (besides Greece) for the four short years of his life. I could write and write about all the things that I loved about this little guy, however, I will try to limit it to some of my favorite memories. Diego loved cats more than dogs. He befriended Guinevere, our little black cat, as soon as we brought him home. The two of them would Wrestle and play, until Diego adopted his own pet kitten; Bacchus. After that, Guinevere would have nothing to do with Diego. Diego and Bacchus would play for hours on end. They truly were best buds. I never grew tiered of these two stalking, chasing, attacking and wrestling each other. When Apollo came along, Diego was naturally jealous...that is until he discovered that Apollo was a constant source of yummy treats. As Apollo reached the age that he could start to feed himself, he always made sure that Diego would get at least the same amount of food (if not more) then he ate himself. I have a picture so vivid in my mind, of Apollo taking a bite of something, then leaning over in his high chair and reaching down to Diego to offer him a bite. Once Diego had a bite, of course Apollo would return this same piece of food to his mouth, and have another bite himself. We thoroughly enjoyed this constant exchange. Diego dug his way out of the yard one morning and was hit by a car and killed instantly. One of the saddest memories I have, is opening up the box that we had Diego in, which we had placed on the ground so Nokia and Lucy could say goodbye, and when Lucy saw him, she openly wept and whimpered. She loved Diego, and I have never seen this kind of compassion between animals before.
Bacchus, like I said before, was Diego's pet. It was our intention to find a home for this 5 week old little kitty that found its way into our lives, but Diego wasn't having it. We grew to love Bacchus. He grew into a fine, large, beautiful, black cat with yellow eyes. We are sure he was meant as a yard ornament as he kept a constant vigil over our flowers and plants, and kept out any uninvited animals. He looked so stately lounging in the tree, or in a favorite place amongst the flowers. Bacchus met the same fate, in nearly the same spot, as Diego, however, Bacchus departed about 6 months earlier. We laid them to rest near each other, under a magnolia tree in our yard, where they would often play.
Xerxes, was a little orange and white kitten, that I adopted for Diego, after Bacchus had past. Xerxes was sickly and only lived for a couple months. He was such a sweet little kitten and all our pets loved him. Guinevere was laying by his side when he past.
Honorable mention goes to Pickles, Ian and Aden's cat. He was a very large, handsome, grey cat, that was tough and very spirited. He dominated the neighbor hood, and the house. Not one for cuddling, or being cordial, I have great early memories of Ian and Aden, yelling from their beds, "Mommy! Come and get Pickle! He is attacking us!" Pickles lost his life in the road as well. He was only a few years old, and left us long before Apollo was even a thought, however, he was worth mentioning here.
I wish all these little critters that I have written about, could have lived out their complete lives as Nokia did. They had so much to offer us, and we loved them so completely in return. In believing in life after death, I have to believe that our pets will be there too. Their is no better example of unconditional love, than the love of a dog. I feel that we are loaned these animals to teach us the true meaning of unconditional love. I am lucky to have had them and cherish the memories of them. Until we meet again...Nokia; say hi to grandpa, Diego, Xerxes, Bacchus and Pickles for us. Vaya con Dios, my friends.
Melanie really needed this little distraction from her normal routine. I had to work so I did not get to go do all the fun stuff that the two mothers and cousins got to do, but I did get to enjoy everyone in the afternoons. This little visit helped me come to a few conclusions; First, the bossy gene...definitely from Melanie's side of the family. You cant chalk it up to the terrible twos, because Olivia is only 18 months, and is every bit as bossy as Apollo. Second, baby OCD. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but all I can say is, apparently certain colors go together, certain things need to happen in a certain order, and the lights need to be turned off when you leave the room! I am mostly speaking of Apollo here, and it is not all the time. Olivia does her share of this as well. Personally, I think it is very cute. Now that I reflect on it, Ian and Aden don't share any of those traits, so maybe Apollo got a bit of this from me. Third, can you say "wild". Wow! Olivia is non stop energy! She is constantly moving...and eating. Even Apollo had to keep one eye on her at all times or he risked getting run over by a tricycle or other type of kiddie toy. Apollo has his wild times as well, but he is a little reserved around other kids, especially Olivia.
I enjoyed watching the two of them interact, bond, and generally be mischievous together. It is times like these that you miss being closer to family. I would love nothing more than for Apollo to have a cousin close in age, to grow up with. A younger sibling is out of the question, as the last threads of Melanie's sanity, would come unraveled and break.
