A Dog's Love

At the Holladay household we have been getting used to having a puppy around - that makes all of us including our trusty dog Daisy. Daisy is learning to deal with a puppy wanting to play 24-7 and the "close walker" as the puppy literally walks underfoot as we make our two mile walk in the park. But this weekend, an unexpected event made me think about the unconditional loves from the all the dogs in my life.

Of course their was Lady - who was a part of the Sahakian home - before I was. She was a mixed breed (mostly German Shepard) we inherited from our neighbors as a puppy. She was 2 when I was born. Lady was a protective dog. She liked women and she was protective of her kids, my sister, brother and I. I remember her fierce bark as an stranger drove up our country drive.

Then there was Greta who came to us when I was in middle school. Her terrible two's seemed to last for ever, she was a magician at pushing her way into your room while you were gone and helping herself to new toys (your things.) I remember my mom being so frustrated with here when we arrived home to another surprise, we would hear her mutter "go play in traffic." But despite those frustrations, Greta turned out to be a wonderful loyal companion - especially to my mom. She would greet me with the same excitement every time I can home - whether it was from college or a 30 minute trip to the store. She was a great neighborhood dog, because after we grew up she adopted the neighborhood kids (who had to pick up the bus stop in front of our house still.) Everyday she would see them off to school and wait for them until they got off the bus.

Then when I went to college, my roommates and I decided to get a community dog. The deal was that we would all care for her, but in the end she would end up with me. To this day, I am not sure how this became the arrangement. But someone found her through some dog classifieds. She was the product of a divorce and neither person could afford to keep here. Maddie was a great dog. She was crate trained, loved people and loved hanging out with five college girls. However, soon there were graduations and I was the only one left in the house. Unfortunately as a college senior, focused on getting a job, she became too much for me to handle alone and an annoyance for new roommates. Lucky for me and luckier for Maddie my Aunt Val and her family where looking for a dog. I believe they weren't interested in a puppy and liked the idea of having an already trained dog. Maddie the 3-year-old mutt (blue healer mix) was a perfect fit. They adopted her from me. She was totally there family pet. She became my Aunt Val's running/walking buddy. Unfortunately time caught up to Maddie this weekend - like Lady & Greta - she joined all the good dogs in heaven.

As I think about Maddie's life and death, I shed tears for the other great dogs in my life. The constant companions, who've caused troubles and grief, as I watch the new puppy chew on anything and everything, but who also always seem to be there at the right moment. My Aunt put it best when she wrote to me in an email today, Maddie made them all better people.