I Miss You Sweet Girl

It has been two weeks since Chloe died and went over the Rainbow Bridge to run with Chancey who went there 3 months before she did. We didn’t want to make that decision, but her health had deteriorated so much, and she could barely walk. This is my letter to her.

My Dearest Chloe,

Today is Halloween, and for the past 13 years we have dressed you up as a pumpkin. This is why I always called you "Pumpkin." Today, we dressed Fast Eddie up in your costume to continue the tradition.

I miss you. You always greeted me at the door with your tail wagging and making your happy little yipping sounds. I miss that. You loved getting your daily lump of cream cheese. Did you know that is where we hid your pills?

I remember one winter you were lying on your hammock in the backyard and it was snowing. I looked out and all I saw was a large lump of snow. And, the reason I knew it was you was your nose was sticking out! You also loved making doggie snow angels. You’d flop down on your back and wiggle like crazy!

Since you were a puppy, we always gave you little pieces of food while we were eating our dinners, (which all the doggie books say not to do). You loved meat and hated vegetables. And, like your mommy, you craved whipped cream! As soon as I started shaking the container, you would appear!

Over the years, you had a few favorite toys that you carried around in your mouth. For many years, it was a toy shaped like a lamb. We purchased many over the years and would quietly replaced them as they got worn. When we ran out of lambs, we found Lambchop and purchased several of those. The last one you played with is on the shelf sitting next to your collar and the box that holds you now.

You, my little diva, had two dog beds. One in the bedroom and one in the living room. The beds are gone now. The living room feels cavernous. I so long for you to be here so I can lean over to pet you and tell you what a gorgeous girl you are. 

One thing I always told you was that you were my girl and you would be my only one. That is a promise I plan to keep. I miss you so much and my heart has a large piece missing. Baby girl, enjoy the freedom to run again. And, enjoy looking for those squirrels!

With all my love,
Mommy Sharon

This is the story about how Chloe came into our lives and I thought you might enjoy knowing more about her.

Chloe is our dog and we are her servants. She is a bit peeved that it has taken so long to get her own blog posting. She is a diva dog. She came into our lives in May of 2004 when she was seven months old. She and her brother had been abandoned in a rural area in Northern Virginia.

Our intent, that Saturday when we went to the Animal Shelter, was just to look at dogs. We were living in an apartment at the time and wanted to wait until we had a house with a fenced yard.

When we finished with the front part of the shelter, Mary went to hunt down the ladies’ room. I have limited patience, so I went ahead into the area where the dogs were kept. I started walking down the line of cages and I made it to the fourth one. And there she was, our dog – who was named Kisses.

Who would name a dog Kisses? Really? Can you see yourself calling out to your dog at the dog park “Here Kisses” or “Kisses stop that right now." Well not I.  I’m getting ahead of myself here. We had not even adopted her, and I already wanted to change her name.

Kisses had her nose right up to the chain link and she looked up at me with an expression on her face of “What took you so long to find me?” I was a goner at that point. When Mary showed up, I informed her I had found our dog.

We took her into a side room where we had the opportunity to meet her. She was very hesitant and tried to hide under one of the chairs but her cute little butt stuck out because she was too big to fit under it.

The staff member told us her story. She and her brother had been sighted many times in a rural farming area. On their first attempt, they were able to capture him but not her. A few days later they got her and at this point she was close to becoming feral.

Poor baby. She was covered in fleas and ticks. She had to be washed and sprayed several times. The flea spray that was used was quite harsh and her skin became quite inflamed. (Once we got her, we learned the wonders of Emu Oil.) She wasn’t made available to be shown to the public for several days. By then, her brother had been adopted.

The way it worked at this shelter was once you made your choice, your dog had to be spayed or neutered before going home. There were local veterinarians that did the procedure at their respective vet clinics. We patiently waited for the call to come pick her up.

She was so scared when we saw her. She was recovering from major surgery and then people she was not familiar with, were calling her “Chloe.”  Before we left the clinic, we were given some information about her that we had not expected. When they shaved her in preparation for the surgery, they found a rope burn encircling her entire hip area. They also found a pocket of skin on her side that contained buck shot that had already healed over. Who in the hell would shoot a puppy? We will never know the circumstances as to why this happened.

Our plans were to keep her in a dog crate in the apartment. That thought lasted about an hour. We had stepped out of the apartment and when we returned, we found that Chloe had bent part of her crate in the process of breaking out. What to do now? Luckily there was a doggie day care center within minutes of our apartment! They were wonderful to her there and she loved spending her days with other dogs.

About six months later, we were planning a move from Virginia to Massachusetts. We wanted Chloe to see her brother one more time, if possible, before we left the area. We contacted the staff at the animal shelter, who were kind enough to send our contact information on to her brother’s new owners. They contacted us and we agreed that a playdate was in order.

We made the arrangements to meet at a baseball park near their home. Until the day I die, I will always have this memory in my mind: her brother was already running around the bases when we showed up. They made eye contact and Chloe ran towards him. They started running side by side around the park. They had such happy expressions on their faces. They remembered each other!

Years have gone by and Chloe will turn 14 in November. She has slowed down quite a bit and running is no longer an option for her. But, I will always remember the day that she ran freely with her brother. What a beautiful memory!

Until next time…