Kipper

I miss my dog.

I miss him terribly. We had to let him go last Sunday, August 4. He was 11 years old and for the last year and a half, maybe more, his hind legs had been bothering him to the point where it was visible that he was having a hard time going up and down the steps. He liked to sleep at the end of our bed where he has his own pillow so when it was time to come upstairs, he'd take his time and as time progressed he was slower and slower.

He brought everyone in our family lots of love. As most animals do. When he was much younger, he certainly was not a friendly pup. 3 members of our family met with his sharp teeth. When he snapped at one of the triplets, we thought he was going to go away, since we had to take the toddler  to the ER and of course explain what had happened. Fortunately the baby was fine, nothing but a small scratch on her scalp. 

You would think he, like a cat, had many lives. 

His name was Kipper. A friend form work back in 2008 was fostering a family of baby chows along with their mom. Julie, who passed died a few years ago was a very friendly animal lover and she did not want the puppies to return to the shelter so she arranged for all to be adopted, except for Mr. burns whom she kept and raised to be a very friendly therapy, service dog. Totally opposite of what Kipper would grow up to be.

When I went to her home to see the pups, the color of kipper was what caught my attention. Golden soft hair all over, climbing over his brothers and sisters and would not stay still. 

I had not mentioned anything about this to Melissa. I wanted it to be a surprise for her. At the time, we already had a dog, Lulu. 

Lulu was a cute small dog who fit Melissa's personality. Perhaps because she had this dog, I felt that I needed not only a dog that was kind of "my dog" but also one to keep Lulu company.

So, one summer day I went to get him and drove to the office where Melissa worked and surprised her with Kipper.

So many stories, so many pictures, so many moments that will forever be etched in our memories.

Today he came home. His ashes anyways but his presence has not left the house and probably never will.