The Animals That Made Me
Hey everypawdy!
Some of you might not know this, but I love to write. I always have. So combining my love for writing and animals, here is my "tribute" and "story" about the animals that made me who I am today.
I love telling this "story" - when my dad was in the Army & they were living in Tennessee/Kentucky, my mom and dad decided to get a black lab puppy near the end of my moms pregnancy with me. Who does that?! Shortly after getting him I was born, and I've never really asked how it was with my sister, a newborn, and a new puppy, but maybe I should! Haha.
His name was Joe Boy, and he lived to be about 14. He was with me & our family through a lot, as most dogs are. And he was that dog that everyone dreams about having. I always used to tell dog training clients in reference to labs, "you either get the one everyone dreams about, the perfect, calm, loving family dog, or you get the way out of your league lab..." you guys will know what I mean. My memory of Joe was that perfect lab, although I was obviously a baby while he was a puppy, so who knows how his puppyhood was! I do know, he was my buddy.
All I know is that his presence throughout my life was just soothing. He didn't really require much (so it seemed) & he was just the GOOD DOG everyone wants. Near the end of his life we were living on a dirt road with no houses around us, surrounded by a large cornfield and woods. He knew it was his time, and he decided to wander out and find himself a spot & go peacefully. I think about him all the time, and send love and light up to him in heaven. I love you, Joe Boy.
Next up is Sissy girl, a sweet and sassy little pup that rode with my dad when he was driving truck. She was so funny. She loved chasing wiffle balls/plastic baseballs around the yard. Pawing them with so much enthusiasm and entertaining herself forever it seems like. I also thought she was a shihtzu, but I recently heard my dad say she was a Lhasa Apso, either way, she was just Sissy Girl to me. Notice the trend of adding "girl" or "boy?" Keep reading.
I think as she got older she was having accidents in my dads truck and couldn't really handle the travel anymore. I think she ended up going to a friends house. Every now and then I stumble across some old photos of her & always remember being in the truck with her and my dad. We went all over the country together, and she was always a great joy to be with. I will always thank her for providing my dad with companionship while he was on the road by himself, and I'm sure he is forever grateful to her for that as well.
Next is Bernie. I'm not sure how much I can write about him, because I am still not over him. He is the one who came into my life at a crucial time. Going through school I had a terrible time from Kindergarten - Senior year. With only a little bit of joy throughout. When Bernie came into out lives I think my mom and dad were going through their divorce, and I know Bernie spent some time at the dirt road house. I can't exactly remember the timeline, but I do know Bernie was a giant beacon of whatever it was I needed at that time in my life. He was just it. I have always loved animals, but I think Bernie was a huge influence to me on just how touching a dog can be. I just adored him. He was my pal, and my best friend. He was a beautiful Saint Bernard/border collie mix. Fluffy black ears, beautiful black and white fur, and adorable black freckles on his face. I won't talk about the sad details of how he left us, but it wasn't a good ending in my eyes. Nothing "tragic" happened as he left us, but as he left this earth, it was tragic in my eyes. Sadly, I am a person who holds grudges, and I know it. I still to this day hold a small grudge about the whole situation with Bernie. But I now know as an adult that things just don't always work out the way we want, and parents have to do the best they can. I love you so much, my handsome Bernie Mac.
Oh man guys, it's gonna get gushy. Next is my beauty queen, my sweet Prada Girl. Ugh. She just melts me. She is my heart and soul dog. And I can't believe I got so lucky. We totally chose each other, and were meant to be 110%. When Kyler and I moved to Washington state, I had no clue if he got a dog friendly apartment or not. But at the time, I was just excited to be married and move, and not really sure how my new husband felt about a dog. So we went that year and a half without, even though Washington was the most dog friendly places I've ever been, it was meant to be that we never even looked for a dog.
When we moved to Tennessee, I had to make arrangements so we had an apartment when we arrived. I found the only nice, affordable-ish apartment in town that accepted large dogs. Everywhere else was crappy and didn't accept large dogs, and I've always been a BIG dog lover. It wasn't long after we moved in that I started wanting to search for a dog. Kyler kept saying he wasn't ready and that he wanted to get settled in. I "understood" but ultimately blew him off, I was on a mission. This was finally MY time to get a dog of my OWN, truly, my ultimate dream in life.
We lived 1/2 mile from a Tractor Supply store. One day we went and I noticed as we pulled in the parking lot that there was an adoption even going on. I was pumped. I actually didn't expect to go home with a dog that day. But if you're catching on, we totally did. I stayed outside to check out the event and Kyler went inside to shop. Time seemed to truly stop when I saw my girl laying down in her crate with a huge smile on her face, her tail thumping on the crate bottom. Holy shit she was so beautiful you guys. SO beautiful, just drawing me in with her beautiful energy. I just knew. I asked the lady if I could get her out and she said "of course" and she told me her name. She had a small laminated book of photos of Prada when they first got her. She was so skinny and not healthy looking. I knew right away she was lucky to be saved by them, and soon to be by me. I walked her around on her simple pink leashed that matched her pretty pink collar, and it was love, pure love. She was so calm but so excited. I don't know how long it was, but Kyler finally came out and he just wasn't convinced. To save time, I'll just tell you we left, I was devastated, but as we got home I cried my eyes out telling Kyler she needed a home and that we could give her one. I won, of course. When we went back maybe 25 minutes later they were loading up the dogs in the rescue truck. I was screaming inside. We rushed out and I said, "WE WANT PRADA!!" $400 later, she was MINE!!! And she has continued to change my life everyday since. My girl.
And now...MACARONI! My sweet Mac boy. His story isn't as long or gushy, but it's obviously a happy ending. It was only a few weeks after we stared out adventure with Prada that Kyler, my friend Christina and I wen't to a shelter in Hopkinsville, KY to look at some dogs. When Kyler wanted to go I was so confused, like, why would we want another dog? Prada is perfect. We went looking for my friend Christina. But we were the ones who left with a puppy named Jupiter. I swear Kyler went for Mac the same way I went for Prada. We looked at a few puppies, including Mac's sister, but he ended up taking Mac baby out of the crate and we were playing with him on the floor. I thought, "this is fun, but can we go home to Prada now?" Well, we asked about Mac (they had him named as Jupiter) & we didn't decide his new name until a few days later. He was so funny on the way home. In our laps all over the place in the Chevy. All over the place, I was just hoping he didn't pee on us! We got home and as we walked in the door I was in disbelief that we just brought Prada home a sibling. If it was my way, I would have spoken to her about this first! Haha.
It was love at first sight for them though. Instant play buddies, instant momma instincts for Prada, and instant friendship. Instant family for everyone but me. I was...happy...but also sad? I remember taking prada for a little walk outside and calling my mom crying. "I didn't even want a dog and now prada is gonna think we don't love her, and Kyler isn't going to love prada the same" is all I remember sobbing to my mom.
Yeah...what was I thinking. Macaroni soon began to pull my heart strings and just completely over took me. He is the funniest, sweetest, most perfect little Roni ever. I just LOVE him so much. My sweet Mac baby. Wild, but sweet when it counts. Noble, protective, knows what he wants, goes for it, never hesitates, LOVES life so fricken much. I love my sweet Macaroni boy.
Okay, one more. OSCAR! Oscar came into my life when I was in high school. He started out as my step brother Cody's dog. Then became my moms dog. Oscar has always been so vibrant and special. Give or take his issues with people, I see the best in him. He is loving, carefree, wildly independent, and very protective. Unfortunately that protective part of him became a little troublesome at my moms house, where she has an open door policy. He ended up at our house for a temporary stay, but we haven't really said out loud that he is going to stay with us for the long haul. He loves it at our house. He is free to relax where he wants, bark when we wants, and romp around on our land the way he loves to do! He has always gotten along with Mac and Prada, which made the decision to have him over easy peasy. I was only slightly worried about him and Mac. Mac baby loves his momma, and loves his space. And they have only butted heads a few times, but so far it is working out great. They all get to hunt, run, play and have a blast together 24/7. It's a really great dynamic at our house. Everyone knows their place, and how they are expected to act. We are all at peace, and I love my pack. *Oscar has since passed over the rainbow bridge - it has devastated me in a way I cannot come to terms with. Rest in Paradise, OshKosh*
* I do have to add that in betweeen/mixed in between the Joe, Sissy & Bernie era, was Bow. He was a very special cat that I think filled a void of not being able to have a dog once those 3 were gone. He was around for a long time. He was best friends with Joe boy, they had such a special bond. And Bow was always there for me. I know guys, can you picture me as a cat person? He was the best. He started to get sick and we found out he had cancer. I was about to leave for WA when he was starting to get bad. I don't think he suffered, but I do know he waited for me to leave to pass. And I'm grateful for that. I miss him everyday, and I know without a doubt that he knows how special he was to me. Love you, Baude! I also had a hamster named Lily, a fish named Bruce Wayne, & a guinea pig named Petunia💗
There's not gonna be a fancy way to end this other than just saying that animals are so dang special & we should all cherish them as much as we can & give them all the love they deserve and more.
Love, Mel, Mac, Prada, & Oscar
Sweet Paws Outfitters
