I've been trying all day to get this column written while I have a rare day when David is out of the house. Alone time is hard to come by once your spouse retires so I try to make the most of it by sitting in my recliner making up excuses in my head as to why I'm not getting anything done. But not today. No, today I'm finding it nearly impossible to concentrate with my mind and heart full of worry. I have a very sad suspicion that our elderly Cocker Spaniel, Molly, is not going to be with us much longer. She has spent the entire day walking around the house, huffing and puffing for breath, walking into walls and the furniture. She circled the pole by our front door about half a dozen times then laid down. Bless her heart. We knew this day would come someday soon, but that doesn't mean we're ready. I'll never be ready.
Recently, while we were picking up our grand puppy from the veterinarian's office, David got to chatting with the receptionist about pet cremation. I hurried back to the car with our grand puppy, a tear in my eye, while she handed him a brochure. I didn't even want to think about it. She's only 11. It's too soon.
We got Molly as a teeny tiny pup. It's hard to believe now that she was so small, she fit inside a baseball cap. I'd always wanted a small dog, maybe 10 pounds or so. One day I was perusing one of those 'penny saver' type newspapers and there, among all the other ads for pets, I found my ideal dog–a miniature Cocker Spaniel. What luck. I didn't even know miniature Cocker Spaniels existed. I've since learned that they do not, but I was so enamored by the idea, I pushed any doubts aside.
David loves Cocker Spaniels and I love small dogs, so she was an ideal combination if ever there was one. I called the number listed and our daughter and I made arrangements to meet the lady. We agreed on a location about an hour away and brought home the newest addition to our family.
She was so adorable, cuddly, and smart. I held her in my lap and spent a day or two trying to come up with a name for her. I've never been too good at coming up with names so over the years our daughter has been the one to come up with our pets' names. She's helped name Nikki, Ginger, GiGi, and others whose names elude me right now. That's how we came to add Molly to our family.
I spent many hours working with her on potty training and going to bed when it was time. Of course, I was quite a bit younger and had the energy required to work with her. Fortunately for me, she was such a fast learner. Unfortunately, the sweet little Yorkie, Cola, we soon added to our menagerie of one was not so quick. Although we'd been told she was housebroken I guess they meant their house, not ours. She was already set in her ways and never did fully quit using our carpet as her personal port-apotty, but she was affectionate and went to bed when she was told.
Both dogs figured out how to let themselves out into the backyard by jumping up and bumping open the screen door. We had installed an oldfashioned screen door when we moved here so our grandkids could easily let themselves in and out of the back door without worrying about smashed fingers. Since the dogs never figured out how they let themselves back in and I got tired of getting up off my tuchas to let them in, David finally installed a doggie door and it worked great. If we didn't want them outside for any reason, all we had to do was lock the screen door. You see, they never did understand that the doggie door worked both ways so even though they'd come in the door they still insisted on going out by opening the big door. Neither one was the sharpest tool in the shed, but we love(d) them anyway.
A few weeks ago, I saw a Facebook post about a sweet Yorkie named Matilda that needed a home, and I knew in my heart that she belonged here. I shortened her name to Tilda (all by myself, I might add) and started working on training her to our ways. Thank goodness she's a quick learner. She's already stolen our hearts and will help us with its Molly's time.
It's hard to say goodbye to our sweet, sweet Molly but not today. Thank God, not today.