Sometimes I Just Miss My Dog

We currently have two dogs living in our house. Lola is a short-haired pointer mix (with what we aren’t sure but possibly pit bull) who is without a doubt a Mama’s girl. If Patti is in the house, Lola is either right next to her or laying down somewhere keeping a watchful loving eye on her.

The other dog is Ruby, a full breed boxer with papers and everything. She was a gift from a grateful client to Patti. She is a good girl, but she’s not a Mama’s girl. If anything, she is Lola’s dog. As close as Lola stays to Patti, Ruby is usually even closer to Lola.

They are both good dogs, but neither of them is MY dog. Isabella was MY dog. Like Ruby, Izzy was a full breed boxer, but unlike Ruby, she was born is a plethora of health issues that caused her death shortly after her one year birthday. I have described her on this site as “a very good puppy with very bad genes” and I stand by that. However, more than just being a very good puppy, she is the one pet who is no longer with us that I miss the most.

Ruby, her successor but never her replacement, will sit next to me and snuggle in close when she wants to go to sleep. When I lay on the couch, Lola will climb up next to me and sleep behind my knees. These are both things that Izzy used to do, but with her it was different. With them, it seems like they have found a comfortable spot but with Izzy, it was like she wanted to be where she was most comfortable. Do you know what I mean?

The two dogs we have now will come up and greet me when I get home but the reaction I get is the same reaction everyone gets when they walk through the door. When Izzy greeted me, you could tell she was giving me a greeting that no one else got. Even on the days when she was at her most painful, when even the wind blowing on her caused discomfort, she would rush to be with me.

So even though I love both dogs, I miss MY dog.