Over the years my hubs and I have loved many animals. Most were rescue animals, strays and such that came into our lives when we were not necessarily looking for another pet. Regardless of how they came to be with us, once we saw them, it was all over and we were theirs. At the peak of the animal invasion, which was several years ago, we had five dogs and seven cats. Chaos runs toward normal.
Recently we lost a member of our family, a blue healer named Daisy. She was a sweet natured, slightly overweight beauty that could growl like the meanest dog on earth if you came into the back yard without permission. She was 13 years old and had been with us, after being rescued from the pound, for 10 years. She could shake and sit on command and most of the time would take the treat from your fingers without a nip. She loved to dig and boss the other dogs around. She is survived by Jasper, a shepherd mix roadside find, dumped as a puppy, now 5 and Sadie, a blind blond cocker spaniel, with ears that drag the ground and her water bowl, who is 8.
Daisy joined our family to be a buddy for Trudy ‘the Trude’, a beagle with many, many issues, who passed last year at age 13 after being with us for 10 years. Trudy was a rescue dog from the pound that was scheduled to be put down because of her anger management issues. She was a biter. We took a big chance on her and worked hard through most of her many issues over the years. A smarter dog I’ve never encountered. She could push open latched gates, open drawers, ring bells on door handles to let you know she needed to go out, sit, beg, roll over, lie down and various other actions on command, (sometimes all in a row without asking if she wanted something, which was pretty comical) and had mastered the treat on the nose trick. She was big with attitude and her face was very expressive. She never learned to trust in some areas, being pretty sure no matter what that every meal was her last. And she snored, badly.
Daisy, Trudy and Jasper were the ‘big’ dogs at the height of the five dog household. There were also two ‘small’ dogs. Zelda was a thick bodied white Chihuahua mix that was part of our family for 18 years, and was 19 when she passed. We were answering a newspaper ad for free puppies for a Chihuahua /cocker spaniel mix, when it turned out the mother of the puppies had been abandoned and the rescuer was just trying to find good homes for all of them. Mommy Zelda, then named Popcorn, took a shine to us, and she was ours from minute one. She was a piece of work, feisty, noisy and lovable. No one had ever told her she was a small dog, and it didn’t seem like a good idea to bring it up. She knew when she’d done something wrong and had perfected the ‘woe is me’ look. Last but certainly not least was Abby, a Chihuahua/terrier mix obtained through a rescue group to be Zelda’s playmate. She was a thin legged brown haired joy (hair didn’t grown on her legs due to fire ant bites and her tail had been broken into a permanent ‘J’), that skipped so often with her hind legs (either one) people would think she was three legged. Even into her advanced years (she lived to be 18), she raced around so fast she was a light brown blur as she whizzed by you with a toy in her mouth. Sometimes she would drag her legs behind her all over the house, pulling herself along with her front legs, then jump up and race away to run circles around Zelda. On walks, they shared a leash. Chihuahua bobsled style.
The misfits we’ve loved and lost are in our pet cemetery and now Daisy has joined them. Jasper is searching for her with Sadie trailing behind. I know in time they will be ok and stop looking for her. But we will miss her, just as we miss the rest of our furry family.
My Random Life 