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Monday, March 31, 2008

Goodbye March (and my Gravy-Gravy)

March started out with the whole Girl Scout cookie mess on 3/1. Then during the night between 3/1 - 3/2, Bub had a seizure. My cat Ashley died. And my dog Gravy-Gravy died. My Dh got laid off due to lack of work and my sister was hospitalized due to exhaustion. An EEG showed that Bub may have some developmental delays and Krissy got a new teacher and she's struggling a bit with the change.

Other than Bub's spina bifida appointment being the best ever (they think he may be ready for arm crutches and he doesn't need to see orthopedics or neurosurgery for a year!), March was NOT a good month for me.

But April arrives tomorrow and hopefully April will bring warm weather, lower gas prices, and happier days in my house.

Of all the bad things, losing Gravy-Gravy was one of the worst. When I was a kid, I read Anne of Green Gables books and Anne often spoke of "kindred spirits". I felt that Gravy-Gravy was my kindred spirit. I'm not a dog person. But Gravy-Gravy was my kind of dog. He was mellow and just cool. He howled the most beautiful music and we even taught him to say "I love you" (he sounded a bit like Scooby Doo when he said "I love you"). He gave the nicest kisses and had the softest fur.

His mom had strayed in and my sister Tissy had always wanted a black lab and my Mummy couldn't send a stray away, so we kept her. Tissy named her Raven. Not too much later, my Gravy-Gravy (and a few other dogs) were born. I'd never felt about a dog like I did this one and so Mummy and Daddy said I could keep him. I'd named him Gravy-Gravy because he was brown, ya know, like gravy.




When he was just a puppy, he was afraid of steps. So I'd carry him up and down the steps and could frequently be heard saying "If you lift a cow everyday he doesn't get any heavier". I'd read somewhere that if you picked up a cow everyday that the cow wouldn't feel any heavier because you'd get stronger as the cow got bigger. I quickly learned that if you lift a Gravy-Gravy everyday, that he will get heavier. Much heavier.


One of the highlights of moving into our house was that I could bring Gravy-Gravy to live with us. But his mom still lived with my mom and dad and Gravy-Gravy was lonely without another dog. So we had to take him to back to live with my mom and dad. I remember that day. I made Jimmy take him back to my mom's by himself because I was so sad. But since mom and dad only live about two minutes away, I could still see and play with Gravy-Gravy. He loved his soccer ball and was so talented. He could throw it up in the air and then catch it!


Eventually he went to live with my sisters Pam and Pat. They had a little beagle named Mandy. Gravy-Gravy and Mandy got along great. Pam and Pat took such good care of him and he was very happy there. He had arthritis and didn't move as quick as he used to, but he was still a sweetheart. Last summer he escaped out of Pam and Pat's house and came down to visit at my mom's. He was tired when he got there and wasn't moving too quickly but we had fun visiting with him. We fed him dog bones and then Pam and Pat brought the truck and drove him back home.

Tissy called last Tuesday and told me that Gravy-Gravy was sick and that she was going to have to put him down (she's a Veterinarian). I went over to Pam and Pat's and told Gravy-Gravy goodbye. I took some pictures. He was still so handsome, he just looked older. His fur was turning white around his face. We laid him down on his dog bed and my sister's and I gathered around him. With one of his last breaths, he licked my face and then he closed his eyes and then he was gone. I was a bit disturbed because his eyes kept opening, but Tissy said that was normal.

Saying goodbye to that sweet dog was one of the harder things in my life. Rest in peace, my Gravy-Gravy.


And goodbye March. Bring on April!

2 comments:

*~Annette~* said...

A year ago on the 30th I said goodbye to my own baby girl, Simi. I still miss her so much and don't think I'll ever fully get over her loss. But we unexpectedly got a NEW puppy of the same breed (for free!) a couple months ago. We weren't wanting another...

I hope that your heart heals soon. *hugs*

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you had a very rough March. I am so sorry for all you are going through and for your loss.

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