Maggy the Puppy

In memory of Maggy.

I always made fun of the people who had pictures of deceased pets displayed on their wall as if they were family. They are usually elderly people, who have a string of such pictures on their wall, each of a different dog that kept them company since the kids left home.

Today I find myself in the same boat. I never realized how the loss of a family dog would affect me, mainly because I always thought she would live for another 10 years and I would have ample time to prepare for it, plenty of time to have fun with her before she got old and tired. But dying when she was still basically a puppy caught me off guard.

What it does for me, though, is help me appreciate my real family- we are all healthy, and will hopefully live a long time together in the future. It has made me appreciate a little more the time we have together, and gives me the desire to make every moment count, so at that day when one of us moves on, the ones who stay behind will be prepared and be at peace.

So at the risk of being really....corny, heres a short obituary:

Maggy
(February?) 2004-June 18, 2006
Maggy probably ran away from her first family, as she seemed to be current on all her shots, and was already spayed. Needless to say, she was very adventurous and curious, and would always try and jump fences and get into things and places she knew we didn't want her to. She was fun to play with, good at chase, fetch, and was improving in her frisbee skills- she had finally understood the concept of catching it in the air. Though a very high-energy dog, she was a good companion for a nap, and was very gentle with kids, especially Lucy. Whenever Lucy was fussy or crying, I could always take her to play with Maggy, who was always able to calm her down with her licking, jumping and running. She had a boyfriend, Coleford- a big black labrador who is nearly double her weight, and yet she was always able to pin him in wrestling. Like us, Maggy loved tomatos, and in our garden the first year we had her, she managed to break in and steal the first ripening tomato. She loved going on trips to the doggy park, and especially to seattle where she could play with our nieces and nephews, as well as go to the ocean and eat crabs and chase birds.
Puppy, we'll miss you. May you always have green grass to eat wherever you are (she thought she was a cow), sticks to chew on, and other dogs to frolick with, and in the resurrection, we get first dibs on having you in our mansion.