It’s funny how I’ve seen my own life story replayed over and over on the social media stage, but in the lives of my friends. The plot goes something like this…
- Go to college
- Get a job
- Marry your best friend
- Buy a house
- Get a dog
- Go on vacations
- Have some kids… (sound somewhat familiar?)
But for those who haven’t made it to the next step yet, please excuse me while I spoil the surprise for you; the step that I didn’t see coming…
THE DOG DIES!!!!
And it really, really stinks. I mean… of course the dog dies someday, right? But to me it always felt like some far off event that I could push to the back of my mind while dealing with babyhood and toddlerhood… until it wasn’t. Self… welcome (back) to the world of pet loss!
Only now do I see that dealing with the challenges of dog ownership during early motherhood is more than worth it for what I got in return.
While I don’t long to be woken at night by both kids and dog, I still miss the security of her bark when a stranger comes to the door.
Despite the fact that I occasionally had to clean dyed red dog food vomit from our expensive wool rug (thanks for the stain!), I can still envision her beautiful lean body relaxing there in a stream of sunlight.
Even though I no longer need to constantly vacuum hair from every crevice of our home, I still miss the wonderful feeling of petting her velvety soft, floppy ears.
No matter how much I hated picking up poop in the yard (or dealing with the consequences of ignoring it), I’ll never forget experiencing the most amazing baby belly laugh as my son watched Winnie “play wrestle” with her beloved litter mate.
While I still prefer to keep my kitchen counters free of furry shivering thunder-phobes, I often miss the floor cleaning power of an eager wet tongue.
Though I never want to repeat the moment that she leaped into the (unoccupied) pack-n-play, I would give anything to experience her patient gentle nature with the kids for one more day.
I’m enjoying being able to walk out of the house without the guilt of leaving her behind, but I will always miss the feeling of having unconditional love and a wagging tail eagerly awaiting my return.
It’s been nearly a year since she died at not quite 10 years old, and I’m not over it. The feeling of my son’s sad little body melting into my own is still vivid in my mind. I’m not ready for another dog… I just want my Winnie girl back.
RIP Winnie… your superhuman (canine?) ability to love without question or condition will live on in our hearts as we continue this story without you.
This hits home in many ways. My first and second babies were both dogs and both Vizslas. They truly are “Velcro” dogs and love to be near humans. My next two babies were human and they love the dogs. Our four legged boys are now 9.5 and almost 8 years old. As much of a pain as they may be at times when our world with 2 young boys goes crazy, I’m still dreading the day they leave us. I’m so sorry for your loss of Winnie.
I’m so amazed about how many people I’ve heard from who have Vizslas! They are fantastic dogs! Enjoy your sweet pups!
This hits so close to home. I see Winnie was a vizsla, clearly the best kind of dog ever. We lost our vizsla Owen in January. He died suddenly in January in front of my kids. Every last word you said is exactly my heart and we miss him so!!! And my 7 year old grieved his loss so deeply. It was awful! We have a new vizsla puppy now but not a day goes by do I think he has big giant General amazing wonderful shoes to fill!
I’m so so sorry to hear that Lisa. My kids are still asking about Winnie a year later. It’s hard… but good that she really left an impression on their hearts. Good luck with the new puppy, give his floppy ears a rub for me!
Thank you for sharing your story. Petraeus our almost 7 year old Viszla past away suddenly this morning. My wife ran him 3 miles almost everyday. I came across your post looking for others that shared the same love and longing that I feel now. Your post hits home as I think about how every day no matter what I was wearing I was greeted by two paws on my chest when I got home. It always drove me nuts no matter how much I tried to prevent this greeting it was always the same. This greeting made me laugh at times, upset when wearing a well pressed suit or leather jacket but that was Petreaus. He made my mother who was afraid of dogs a dog lover. He trained our second rescue dog how to be friendly to other dogs, kids and people. My 4 year old is upset and misses him as well. I miss his velvet ears and his groan at night when he found his perfect spot in our bed. I miss our Sunday football games resting on the chair together and him making sure I am ok when I yell at the Eagles for being so bad. Thank you for your blog to help others cope and Remeber all the things that being a Viszla owner are and how much of a gift it truly is to be blessed to be a proud parent of a Viszla. Rest in peace Petreaus you will always be remembered for the happiness you gave to everyone you touched. Petraeus Have fun with Winnie I happy to know you are with her.
Awww love hearing your words. We lost out almost 10year old lab suddenly in Oct and just lost our 18year old cat three weeks ago. The pit in my stomach is still there and the house is so empty for my two girls and my husband and I both. One day I hope to fill this house with barks and and hair and drool but don’t know when that will be:-(