The Girl Says Goodbye to The Dog

Once upon a time-or more specifically, in 2003, there was a Girl who wanted a dog. She lived in a new city and didn't know very many people and although she had cats who were lovely, she wanted a companion to go out with on Adventures.

The Girl checked the rescue websites every day for months, waiting for just the right one to come along. And one day, she saw the cutest little pup was available for adoption along with all her brothers and sisters. She called right away and arranged to meet The Pup at her foster parents' house.

The foster parents warned The Girl, "This one is stubborn! She knows her own mind!"  But The Pup and The Girl took one look at each other and both thought at the same time, "This girl is The One!"

The Pup and her siblings had been the rescue's  "O" litter and the fosters had named The Pup Olisa. The Girl found that no other name seemed to suit The Pup as well and kept it, and took The Pup home.  

The Pup was very happy and everyone said it showed.

The Pup loved to play and chew and especially to run. The Girl and The Pup would have many Adventures, finding lots of smells to sniff and places to explore and things to go bounding after.

In a few months, The Girl would bring home a new playmate for The Pup as the other cats were too cranky. The Pup and The Cat were instant friends. Or would be as soon as The Cat learned to wrestle with the Pup from places higher off the floor, like the arms of a chair, or the back of the couch.

The Pup was curious and clever and lively, and was always looking for high Adventure. Or squirrels. Especially squirrels.

Eventually, The Pup grew up into a beautiful Dog.

The Dog was loving and loyal, full of energy, and very, very clever. The girl was often heard to call out in exasperation, "Oh, Lissa, what did you do now?!" The Dog loved to go exploring in the neighborhood, and to chase after bunnies and squirrels and deer. And, oh, did she love children! The little humans laughed and ran and The Dog would laugh her dog-laugh, racing after them with her ears flapping and her tongue hanging out. 

The Girl and The Dog and their friend The Cat moved back to where The Girl grew up and close to The Girl's Parents, who fell in love with The Dog as much as The Girl. 

They all lived a happy life full of love, playtime, snuggles and treats. The Dog had a fondness for napping on piles of pillows, and The Girl would take many, many silly pictures.

The Dog loved The Girl even though she took so many pictures and once bought The Dog the silliest yellow raincoat, which The Dog wore, but only under duress, and after the promise of a really meaty bone. She even let The Girl take a picture of her in it. But only once. 

The Dog got her bone, and enjoyed it very much.

One day The Girl brought home a brand new playmate, The New Pup. The Dog taught The New Pup everything she needed to know about wrestling...  

...and about which smells to sniff and where the best things to chase would hide in the backyard.

 

The New Pup always followed wherever The Dog would lead...

even if that was sometimes under the back fence and into the burdock.  

Although The Dog would lose her friend The Cat when he got sick, she and The Girl and The New Pup would have several years together, chasing furry things that ran very fast in summer, visiting The Girl's Parents, finding Adventure, and playing in the snow. The Dog still loved to run and run, and in winter, she loved to bound gracefully through the snow like a gazelle..

The Dog would sleep on The Girl's feet when The Girl would sit at her craft table. She would go on rides with The Girl, always in the front seat, looking out at the world to see what was about. She would enjoy shredding her stuffed toys, gnawing her rawhides, and playing tug-of-war with The New Pup. She would greet The Girl with the same happy excitement every day when The Girl came home from work and coax (too) many treats and spoonfuls of peanut butter out of The Girl whenever she could. She would interrupt every movie The Girl would ever try to watch by asking for a potty break. She would still take every chance she could to run, run, run! She would whuffle while she slept, chasing bunnies in her dreams and making The Girl laugh.

One day The Girl took a photo and realized that The Dog's fox-red face had turned to pale wheat and she was sad. But The Girl and The Dog continued to live each day without too much thought to Time.

Time, however, had other ideas. On Thanksgiving Day, Time came and knocked on the door. The Girl didn't answer and took The Dog to The Vet to ask for a way to hide from Time for a while. The Vet gave The Girl some magic and The Dog seemed to be fine for a week, but Time was not to be put off. He came for The Dog on Sunday afternoon while The Dog and The Girl were at The Girl's Parents. They took The Dog back to The Vet for some more magic to make the trip easier for The Dog. The Girl said goodbye and sent The Dog off alone on her last Adventure.

There is now a Dog-sized hole in The Girl's heart, full of pain and loss and sorrow... and a longing to have her old friend back again. The Girl's memories are hard to see through the tears that fall without warning. They are hard to hear through the quiet that seems to blanket the house. The New Pup looks for her friend, too, and is confused when she cannot find her. The Girl knows that Time will return eventually and fill the hole with happy memories, and so she waits, trying to hold on to her favorite image of The Dog... with eyes alert, a doggish grin, and one leg up, ready to take off on the next Adventure with Her Girl.

 Goodbye, my sweet Olisa Girl. I will love you forever. XO