Wonderful! I love the dogs romping gleefully between houses. Thanks for another uplifting story. Our dog has passed away, but we now have an ‘agreement’ with a cat.
This fluffy feline showed up one day and agreed to volunteer at our home as a cat. All we are obligated to do is feed her 2 or 3 times a day, brush her fur ( she loves this...) and tell her she’s beautiful. She sends her love to Cooper.
My damn Facebook memories today held the memory from three years ago of my dog being diagnosed with the heart condition that would take her from us during the peak of Covid. So I had double tears today. but in a good way, for what they bring into our lives and what still remains, even when they skipped this realm.
This made me cry! I have a 12 year old American bulldog and a 17 year old cat. I know there will come a time when we have to say goodbye, and even though we know it’s coming I don’t think we’ll ever be prepared to lose them.
Love love love love loved this. I refused to open this one for a couple of weeks for every reason you can imagine. The sweet truth, the love, the wonder-filled awe and joy and sadness that mix every time I think about Cooper or Toast or Mara + Obi, my dogs is often too much to bear. Loving dogs is such a viscerally joy-filled, animated love, so fierce and clearly primal. Communicating with looks and nods and sounds and sign language built on trust and reassurance. There is no way to explain this without sounding morbid but every time I've hugged and kissed each of my dogs since I was a child it's always adoration mingled with bittersweetness. I love you so much, I say, swallowing the part where I acknowledge their impending death. That's part of the bargain. In order to love you I have to acknowledge the brevity of the love. The beauty of this transitory cosmic meetup. I love you so much you'll never get there, I whisper. Forever and ever. Coop is absolutely a legend in his own time. And the fact that you wrote this listening to Out of Africa, which may as well be tattooed on my DNA, is absolutely magic.
Our town has a dog for a town marshall. One of the council members has a roamer, and the council member got tired of the tourists calling all worried because the dog was "found" doing her thing. She starts her patrol at our house most mornings, in through the dog door to see if my boys want to play. Even better if they didn't finish their dinner the night before. But the dog tag that says "Town Marshall" (we actually don't have any town law enforcement) has cut back on the drama from the city people who think all loose dogs are lost dogs.
Gorgeous. Ugh, these dogs. How could we ever live without them? I also connect with the idea of wanting to live a place where the dogs can run free. I remember mine growing up running to get the newspaper and i want that for Maddie but it takes i think a special kind of neighborhood. Great piece 💕
This was so good. Made me miss my Morgan, the English bulldog that thought she was human. When people would come to the house, she just assumed they were coming to see her, not the humans. She's been gone more than 20 years and I think I will always miss her.
This made my heart ache. The bitter sweet gift of attachment. The loss is hard to bare but somehow we do. Loved the descriptive writing and as always, high praise for the phrasing, word choices, tone and rhythm of the story (and thereby, life portrayed).
As I sat in my recliner by the fire, ready to look at my email, I heard the sound of our 11 year old JRT mix Zoey running towards me. I hurriedly put aside my iPad just before she bounced into my lap. Usually she wants to snuggle, but today her wagging tail and excited licks told me she wanted something else. Zoey usually doesn't want to play fetch in the colder months but when I whispered "want to play ball" she lit up. It was a short game but I was glad to get outside and spend the time with her. Coming back and reading your post kept that good feeling going. Dogs. Am I right?
Wonderful! I love the dogs romping gleefully between houses. Thanks for another uplifting story. Our dog has passed away, but we now have an ‘agreement’ with a cat.
This fluffy feline showed up one day and agreed to volunteer at our home as a cat. All we are obligated to do is feed her 2 or 3 times a day, brush her fur ( she loves this...) and tell her she’s beautiful. She sends her love to Cooper.
My damn Facebook memories today held the memory from three years ago of my dog being diagnosed with the heart condition that would take her from us during the peak of Covid. So I had double tears today. but in a good way, for what they bring into our lives and what still remains, even when they skipped this realm.
This made me cry! I have a 12 year old American bulldog and a 17 year old cat. I know there will come a time when we have to say goodbye, and even though we know it’s coming I don’t think we’ll ever be prepared to lose them.
Love love love love loved this. I refused to open this one for a couple of weeks for every reason you can imagine. The sweet truth, the love, the wonder-filled awe and joy and sadness that mix every time I think about Cooper or Toast or Mara + Obi, my dogs is often too much to bear. Loving dogs is such a viscerally joy-filled, animated love, so fierce and clearly primal. Communicating with looks and nods and sounds and sign language built on trust and reassurance. There is no way to explain this without sounding morbid but every time I've hugged and kissed each of my dogs since I was a child it's always adoration mingled with bittersweetness. I love you so much, I say, swallowing the part where I acknowledge their impending death. That's part of the bargain. In order to love you I have to acknowledge the brevity of the love. The beauty of this transitory cosmic meetup. I love you so much you'll never get there, I whisper. Forever and ever. Coop is absolutely a legend in his own time. And the fact that you wrote this listening to Out of Africa, which may as well be tattooed on my DNA, is absolutely magic.
I laughed and cried reading this piece. I'm not giving up on getting a dog.Yet. The details really brought out emotions. I needed that today.
Our town has a dog for a town marshall. One of the council members has a roamer, and the council member got tired of the tourists calling all worried because the dog was "found" doing her thing. She starts her patrol at our house most mornings, in through the dog door to see if my boys want to play. Even better if they didn't finish their dinner the night before. But the dog tag that says "Town Marshall" (we actually don't have any town law enforcement) has cut back on the drama from the city people who think all loose dogs are lost dogs.
This was beautiful! I read it with a smile on my face widening with each lovely line.
Gorgeous. Ugh, these dogs. How could we ever live without them? I also connect with the idea of wanting to live a place where the dogs can run free. I remember mine growing up running to get the newspaper and i want that for Maddie but it takes i think a special kind of neighborhood. Great piece 💕
This was so good. Made me miss my Morgan, the English bulldog that thought she was human. When people would come to the house, she just assumed they were coming to see her, not the humans. She's been gone more than 20 years and I think I will always miss her.
And that soundtrack is one of the best!
thanks for the dogtown prose
😭😭😭
This made my heart ache. The bitter sweet gift of attachment. The loss is hard to bare but somehow we do. Loved the descriptive writing and as always, high praise for the phrasing, word choices, tone and rhythm of the story (and thereby, life portrayed).
I’m not a dog person (it’s what I keep telling myself anyway), but I am feeling ALL the feels with this one.
Omg, this is so beautiful. What is that water running from my eyes?!?
As I sat in my recliner by the fire, ready to look at my email, I heard the sound of our 11 year old JRT mix Zoey running towards me. I hurriedly put aside my iPad just before she bounced into my lap. Usually she wants to snuggle, but today her wagging tail and excited licks told me she wanted something else. Zoey usually doesn't want to play fetch in the colder months but when I whispered "want to play ball" she lit up. It was a short game but I was glad to get outside and spend the time with her. Coming back and reading your post kept that good feeling going. Dogs. Am I right?
💙💙💙