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| Thanksgiving Day 2019 |
You chose us January 11, 2011. From
the moment I saw you I knew you were ours. You came free. Although Dad would
argue you weren’t free with the added fencing we put in the backyard and new
vet bill.
Even
though we labored to keep you in the backyard when you went outside, your free
spirit always found a way to escape. You would run like a deer and we would
call your name in hopes to stop you from getting out. You would stop and lock
eyes with us for a brief second, and then you would BOLT.
That look was stubborn.
That look was determined.
But that look was also like a promise.
You knew
you were ours and you knew you would come back. After a half hour, or sometimes
a few worried hours on our part, of freedom and frolicking and exploring, you
would always come back. If we had to leave you out, we would come home to find
you in the front yard, like you were securing the premises. I compared you
to Hank the Cowdog because you acted like you
were the Head of Ranch Security. And Ranch Security included our property, the
cow field next door, the neighbors’ chicken coop, and Spring Creek Park.
You were a
survivor. We thought we lost you more than once. You got hit by a car (actually
you ran right into a moving car), bit by a coral snake (as you slung it around
by your mouth), and we sure disappointed one young couple that had loaded you
up into their jeep until we stopped to ask if they had seen you.
You were ours.
One stormy
night around 3am, we got a call from the gas station on Hwy 249 more than a
mile away. Somehow you had gotten that far during a heavy thunderstorm. I don’t
even know how you were gone. But you were ours. And God made sure you came back
home that night, shaking, wet and cold in my car at 3am.
I think we wanted to believe that you would
always survive and you would always come back.
I’ve had
just a handful of dogs in my life but you were my favorite. You didn’t shed.
You didn’t have a tail that could whack a small child off their feet. You would
follow me around the house, finding a spot to curl up close by, until I left
the room and you had to come with me. You endured the kids’ costumes and
headbands they found for you. You gladly slept on their beds as they not so
fairly took turns taking you.
You got
spoiled to Pawpaw feeding you from his plate these past few months when he
lived with us. With Nana and Pawpaw came Memah who was your best dog friend by
far. The two of you would get on couches and dig holes in the yard and politely
share your food bowls. We wondered how you would get along without each other
when Memah moved, but that turned out to be just one week.
You were
healthy and active and then you were not. That last night we had you, none of
us had any idea. You put your chin on Katerin’s lap at the dinner table. You
hung around as we decorated the Christmas tree. You were laying under the table
while we played cards above you. You jumped up when Saimon called upon you to
scare the cats back to the back. You had learned to behave with the cats. You
were a good dog.
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| Our last night with you |
We miss
you, Maddie. Finding pictures of you on my phone and seeing all the videos and
pics Katerin and Wesley are posting bring tears. We had no idea you would go so
quickly. But I’m thankful. I’m thankful that you were ours from January 11,
2011 to November 30, 2019. I’m thankful we did not have to watch you suffer
long. I’m thankful all the kids were home and got to tell you goodbye. I’m
thankful we were with you when your heart stopped beating….that you felt our
love to the end.
Dad said
it best when he wrote on your burial box, “Thank you for choosing us!” You will
always be missed. I am reminded every time the door is left open and I want to
hurry to close it before you get out. But you are no longer to escape. Emily
said you have made "your greatest escape."
We will love you forever, Maddie Madeline!
