Britty (July 5, 2011)

This morning I poured my coffee into my Britty mug. Actually, it's a Cairn Terrier mug I bought in a gift shop somewhere a number of years ago. It probably cost five dollars, and it's nothing anyone would look at twice at a garage sale, but it's special to me because when I think of it, I think of Britty.

Britty was 9 years old when she ran up the porch stairs chasing my son up to the front door late one night. The next morning she was still there, on the porch looking into the full length window. Even though we'd had a Schnoodle for a dozen years, I was never a big dog lover - cats are my friends of choice - but there was something about this bedraggled pooch. We took her in, contacted the local dog officers, and waited for a response.

The owner did contact us. Her story was a sad one. In short, she didn't really want the dog back. She sent me the vetinary records on the dog, and Britty(or Pie as she came to be called) was ours. She'd had a tough 9-1/2 years before she came to live with us. She had one medical issue after another as a result of her years of neglect, and I think we bought our vet a summer home with all the fees we paid him. She had a skin condition and was lovingly groomed every week, by a groomer who seemed to love her as much as we did. On the way home, we would stop for ice-cream. She never learned to play with toys, but she was the best friend I ever had. She was happy to just lie there beside me.

We lost her 5 years later to kidney failure. It was the most profound loss I have ever experienced. If a dog can be your soul mate, then she was mine. I think we both felt battered and bruised in much the same way but for different reasons. She knew I needed her as much as she needed me. At this point, we're caretakers of cats, but someday....