Ultimate Puppy Love

Tonight my heart weighs very heavy in my chest. The tears will not cease to flow and yet I know that I was blessed to witness the ultimate in puppy love. This afternoon, our beloved dog Igloo and the love of his life, our neighbors dog Sadie, were fatally wounded by either a truck or a car. They will both be greatly missed but the lesson they taught so many in the art of love will be remembered for a long time. Through the tears, I will try to share their story.

It started a few weeks before Christmas back in 2007. We had a new pet store open in town and there was a sale on fish. Oliver and I went into the store to look at the fish as a Christmas present for my sister. Smart marketing people that this particular pet store owners were, they had it arranged so that you had to walk through the puppy area to get to the fish area. It was there that our eyes first met. Usually I was able to just look at the puppies, see that they were cute and continue on my way. And for the most part, I was successful that night too. That is until we got to the cage that held the cutest little white fur ball that my eyes have ever seen. I took one look and as our eyes locked, this little guy winked at me. Oliver knew at that moment that we were going to be getting a dog. I was not so sure. I still was grieving over our dog Bart that we had to put down a couple of years earlier.

We did not get him that night. Instead, we left and went across the street to the new mall and watched the Christmas light production that they put to music. It was a perfect Christmastime night. The air was cold and there was a beautiful fluffy snow falling from the sky. People were milling around the mall and there was excitement in the air. We enjoyed it and just felt like our family was going to expand despite our best efforts to talk ourselves out of it. That night we picked out his name and the next day after church, we bit the bullet and went back and got him.

Since then Igloo has been my constant companion. Through all the times that Oliver was on the road, it was Igloo that kept me company. When Oliver got the job down here, it was Igloo that helped me hold it all together while I battled such uncertainty. It was 6 months before our house up in Bolingbrook sold and the beginning of a health nightmare for me. Through it all, it was Igloo that helped me to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. He gave me a reason to get up in the morning and face the day. After all, the boy needed to do his business and it was just he and I.

Finally we moved to Tennessee and believed that our dream had come true. The plan was that we would ride out the rest of our lives rocking on our porch, watching Igloo play in the yard. At least we got to see that dream come true, for a while. He loved to play and there were plenty of playmates for him here. There was the butterfly that would float by his nose, the mockingbirds that would swoop down and he'd chase back to the trees, the grasshoppers that kept him busy and most recently the lightening bugs that he couldn't quite figure out. And then there was Sadie.

Shortly after we moved in, Sadie and her family moved into the house down the road. At first they did the whole sniffing butts thing but soon decided that the other was a-okay. Each day they'd play and romp and just have a jolly good time. Somewhere along the line, Sadie stole Igloos heart as well. She even trumped a biscuit and for Igloo, that was a big thing. They became inseperable. Sadie even became accustomed to sleeping on the rug right outside our back door, with Igloo laying just on the inside of the door. They became sneaky cohorts too. Igloo would demand our attention so that Sadie could sneak into the house. Many times it was unnoticed by us until sometime later in the evening when we'd see a pillow on the couch move and upon closer inspection, would find Sadie curled up in a ball in the middle of a dream. Other times we'd be sitting there listening to the familiar crunch of Igloo munching on his dry food, only to hear a smaller crunch right after. Sure enough, Sadie would be hiding in the kitchen chomping on the food that Igloo brought to her, outside of our sight lines.

It really was sweet to watch but invariably we'd have to shoo Sadie back outside so that she could go home. Many nights we'd find that she'd sneak into the garage when we'd come home and we wouldn't find her until the next day. Igloo would never let on but he knew she was there. During many thunderstorms, Sadie would find refuge over here until the storm passed. The neighbors kept her outside in a kennel but my heart could not send her back into the storms to go home. The neighbors always knew where she was, there was never a doubt.

Being home all day, and facing some very difficult days, our little gift from God would bring such immense pleasure to my life. Oh he loved us both but he and I were very close. That is until Sadie came along. My little guy had fallen head over heals for this little dog no bigger than my shoe. Earlier this week I had taken some pictures of Igloo and just last night felt pressed to take pictures of Sadie. My sister fell in love with Sadie when she was here and I was taking the pictures for her. I just transferred them from my camera to the laptop. Two nights ago, the two lovebirds shared a very special dinner. We had gotten steaks through the Angel Food Ministries and Oliver cooked them off. I am not a steak eater, but usually Oliver would eat his and mine, maybe saving a small piece for Igloo. This particular night, Oliver, Star Chef to the dogs, decided to make them a whole steak. Yep, Pops was the best in their eyes. Him standing at the grill would bring these two running from wherever it was that they were playing just in the nick of time and Oliver never let them down. Usually it was just a small bite but this night was the doggy jackpot. We swore the two were smiling as they downed the last of the fine cuisine afforded them that evening. Yesterday their playtime was extremely limited because of the rain. Sadie spent the majority of her time over here because the neighbors worked. I never really minded because she was such a sweet dog.

So today I came home from running errands for a friend of mine. As I was driving, my mind wandered back to Bart, go ol' Bart, the gentle giant. A few years earler, we'd had to put him down. I was devastated then as well. I swore at that time that no other dog would find room in my heart again. I know - stupid move. Flash forward and we had the excitement of a puppy in the family.

Igloo was my little nursemaid. He's the one who made sure I'd taken the meds as I've needed to and wouldn't take no or an excuse for it. He'd coach me on my breathing treatments and Lord help me if I missed one.

When I got so incredibly ill during March, it was Igloo that never left my side. It was Igloo that chewed a hole in the wall out of worry when I had to go to the hospital. But as long as I behaved, he felt free to pursue his young love.Somehow they wandered out on the road about a block away, not quite sure exactly how. Neither had ever wandered that far before. I was on the phone talking to the old owner of the house about some things that still needed to be fixed and during that call, one of our church pastors beeped in to talk to Oliver but he left a message. While on the phone, I saw another neighbor come around the corner and head over this way. Now it's a big property and there could have been any one of many reasons for him to be over here, although it was an odd occurence for sure. I never heard Oliver leave or see the car go around the corner.

After the phone call I went out to tell Oliver about it and he wasn't in the living room. Hmm, where is he? On the way to the bedroom, I noticed the garage door open. As I opened the inside door to go see what he was doing outside, I saw him pull his car up behind mine and then back it into his spot. As I glanced at him, I could see he was in tears. I immediately went outside and yelled "don't tell me my dog is dead." With tears flowing down this big mans face and a broken voice, he told me "both dogs are." What? Sadie too? Oh my, the neighbors, and they have two little children. How will they handle it? Mercifully the kids are with the grandparents until the weekend, so that will give Jay and Amy time to process it all. I was howling and sobbing and totally uncontrollable. Oliver felt helpless and in pain himself.

Oliver had brought the dogs home in the trunk and I had to see them right away. Both of their bodies were still so warm and yet so lifeless. I tried to pray them to come back to life like Jesus had done with Lazarus. I prayed for the clock to be turned back just a few hours so that I could make a better choice about letting him out. I prayed for a miracle.

Oliver and Jay agreed to bury the dogs together and so in the highest humidity day we've had this year, with it raining off and on, Jay and Oliver proceeded to bury them in our back yard corner. They wouldn't have wanted it any other way.Amy and I realized early on that it was best that if they had to die, that it was together doing the thing they loved most, keeping each other company. It would have been far worse if only one had died, no matter which one it would have been.

Tomorrow the sun will rise, Oliver will go to work, and I'll have to fight to get out of bed. For tonight, it's tears and sobbing that have consumed my life. I have to be careful not to let it consume my life too much or my butt will be right back in Vanderbilt. So far I'm still breathing lightly, but ok. I'm consumed with the "what ifs" and feeling so very responsible for this happening. 'If only'... you know how it goes. I'm in extreme pain emotionally and now because of that, physically, but there is a peace knowing that those two walked off into eternity, paw in paw, with lightness in their steps, smiles on their faces and love sparks in their hearts. Together, at the same moment in time, in the same fateful spot, they met their ultimate destiny in puppy love.

Although my heart is heavy because of the loss of not only one, but two great friends, there is the occassional smile that crosses my face, knowing that I couldn't have written it any better if I'd have known how it all would end. I'm sure my tears will continue to flow for quite a while, I'm a very sensitive person to begin with, but I guess if it was their time to go, going together was the way it had to be - at least for them. Earlier today I thought of ol' Bart and actually cried at his memory. I do believe in hindsight it was God's way of telling me that everything will work out - somehow - and I choose to trust that. Thank-You Lord for the love that you allowed me to share with Igloo since he was a small pup and to witness the love he shared with Sadie as a lovesick teenager. And tonight a newborm baby is on his way into this family as our niece wades through her labor pains. The circle of life and God's perfect will. Where can you find better rest for your soul than that? Rest in peace, Igloo and Sadie, the love you shared was contagious and you brought people together because of it. You will be greatly missed but I wouldn't trade one moment of the love we all shared for anything else in this world. I love you Igloo and yes, I love you too Sadie. May your love continue in eternity. Happy Trails.

Igloo

Igloo

Sadie