Murphy - In Memoriam
Approximately 9 yrs ago, Yarry and I decided to get a dog. Though I grew up with dogs, I had evolved into a cat person, and though Yar did a great job of tolerating my cat Mollie, cats were never really his thing. We talked and debated and talked some more and finally decided that what we wanted was some sort of corgie. Using Petfinder, we came across a woman who ran a rescue out of Ramona that specialized in dogs rescued from the streets of Mexico. An Alaska Airlines pilot helped set up this program flying abandoned dogs out of Mexico and into the U.S. I still vividly remember the drive out to the middle of nowhere Ramona to check out the "corgie mix" that we were considering from the blurb on Petfinder. She was estimated to be about 4 yrs old (exactly the age we were looking for) and was apparently unfazed around cats (a stipulation of mine, as I didn't want Mollie ending up as a doggie treat). The dog in question was a squat little thing, definitely enough corgie for identification purposes, but God only knew what else. She had been named 'UB" due to a very pronounced underbite, and was somewhat snaggletoothed due to an irregular tooth that had to be extracted by the vet. She had the longest tongue I have ever seen on a dog. Insanely long with a knack for finding the nearest face for wet, sloppy kisses. It was love at first sight, and within 24 hours of meeting her, she was ours. We renamed her Murphy for reasons that Yar and I still don't really know. Our two 'Irish' children....Murphy and Mollie. One big happy family.
Despite an unusual (and disgusting) fascination with the cat's litterbox, master begging techniques that would occasionally end up getting her hucked outside in order to preserve some semblance of sanity and a propensity for being underfoot at exactly the worst time, she was a dream dog. Friendly, loyal and a face that could win over the hardest of hearts. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer by a long shot, but definitely the sweetest.
So, my first LJ post in months, and my first of 2012, pays homage to my dear, sweet Murphy. After a 3-week illness that seemed to improve only to then spiral into 'not coming back from this' territory, we had to put our pup to sleep yesterday. We both know that it was the right thing to do, but it doesn't make the hurt any less sharp.
We have some neighbors, Roger and Jane, who had an Australian shepherd named Jake. Jake was absolutely mad about Murph. He would come running from half a block away when he saw her. Roger and Jane swore up and down that as friendly as Jake was, he never acted like that with any other dog. He adored her. She adored him. Sorta. Murph would be absolutely overjoyed to see him, pulling at the leash and whining for attention. But it was always on her terms. After a few minutes of Jake's adoration, she was done, ready to move on and continue her walk, but always excited again with his next visit. Jake died about 1 month ago. The romantic in me, desperate to find something positive in this mess of tears and guilt and hurt, wants to believe in an epic love story....two doggy souls who couldn't be apart from one another.
Murph, I hope you and Jake are living it up. Give my love to Mollie if you run into her. I love you my sweet girl, and I'll miss you always.
Despite an unusual (and disgusting) fascination with the cat's litterbox, master begging techniques that would occasionally end up getting her hucked outside in order to preserve some semblance of sanity and a propensity for being underfoot at exactly the worst time, she was a dream dog. Friendly, loyal and a face that could win over the hardest of hearts. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer by a long shot, but definitely the sweetest.
So, my first LJ post in months, and my first of 2012, pays homage to my dear, sweet Murphy. After a 3-week illness that seemed to improve only to then spiral into 'not coming back from this' territory, we had to put our pup to sleep yesterday. We both know that it was the right thing to do, but it doesn't make the hurt any less sharp.
We have some neighbors, Roger and Jane, who had an Australian shepherd named Jake. Jake was absolutely mad about Murph. He would come running from half a block away when he saw her. Roger and Jane swore up and down that as friendly as Jake was, he never acted like that with any other dog. He adored her. She adored him. Sorta. Murph would be absolutely overjoyed to see him, pulling at the leash and whining for attention. But it was always on her terms. After a few minutes of Jake's adoration, she was done, ready to move on and continue her walk, but always excited again with his next visit. Jake died about 1 month ago. The romantic in me, desperate to find something positive in this mess of tears and guilt and hurt, wants to believe in an epic love story....two doggy souls who couldn't be apart from one another.
Murph, I hope you and Jake are living it up. Give my love to Mollie if you run into her. I love you my sweet girl, and I'll miss you always.