A dear faithful friend of mine died yesterday. She was elderly; we knew it was coming, but it is never easy when the family dog, the most faithful of friends, breathes that last breath.
It was Christmas 2003 when my parents came to visit us in the Dom. Rep. Alexander, 8 years old at the time went to my mother with literal "puppy dog eyes" and said, "Mamaw will you buy me a puppy for Christmas because I know my mommy wont buy me one." Mamaw decided without even blinking an eye that Alexander MUST get a puppy for Christmas. Of course I wasn't in favor of the idea but there was no stopping her. The boys were getting a puppy. We found her in a sketchy little corner barrio in Santo Domingo. She was already 3 months old, so I insisted that we see some younger puppies. The owner was able to get puppies from somewhere nearby but when they came, she was so jealous of those puppies, barking as if to say "But I chose you, I'm your puppy, not those babies!" It was over; she won our hearts!
We named her Holly because she was our Christmas present. The boys adored her. I wasn't a fan. She barked at everyone who came to the door, and every sound on the outside. She would bite anyone who seemed like they would threaten her boys. And she ran off when ever we opened the door! Usually, that was as we were running out the door for church or school. It made me livid!!! I could not stand that dog! Then one day she got out as we were trying to go to church and a little kid was playing outside, and with her idea that she must protect her boys, she bit at the ankle of one of the kids. The parents were so mad at me for letting the dog out. I was embarrassed.
Nelson was out of town and so we talked about it over the phone. It had become such a problem that we were concerned about our testimony in the neighborhood. So I gathered the boys together and explained that we had to get rid of her. Alexander, looked at me with tears in his eyes and responded "So mommy if I mess up and make mistakes are you going to get rid of me too?" His question broke my heart. Grace was extended, and somehow Holly began to win me over.
Most likely it was because she began to be a pretty amazing dog! She killed the rats, mice, snakes and tarantula that were a terrible menaces in the DR. I started to call her Holly the Wonder Dog and she became part of the family. She even learned to sing! She and I would sing together and she had this amazing ability to match the pitch of a note that I was singing. She also hated when we traveled. She would get inside our suitcases as if today "Why don't you take me with you?"
When Troy went off to college, she missed him terribly. We would say "Where's Troy boy, Holly? WHere is he?" She would look up at us with a puzzled face and then she would search profusely for him sniffing every nook and cranny of the house, hoping to track him down.
Still, our Dominican dachshund got to travel more than most dogs when we brought her with us to live here in Texas. I always felt bad that her quality of life kinda went down coming here. There were no more rats to chase and kill, no sounds from the outside in our closed up home. No maid to be her companion by day. Still, she deserved to get old, fat, and incredibly lazy these past few years. She had been an amazing and faithful friend.
It was Christmas 2003 when my parents came to visit us in the Dom. Rep. Alexander, 8 years old at the time went to my mother with literal "puppy dog eyes" and said, "Mamaw will you buy me a puppy for Christmas because I know my mommy wont buy me one." Mamaw decided without even blinking an eye that Alexander MUST get a puppy for Christmas. Of course I wasn't in favor of the idea but there was no stopping her. The boys were getting a puppy. We found her in a sketchy little corner barrio in Santo Domingo. She was already 3 months old, so I insisted that we see some younger puppies. The owner was able to get puppies from somewhere nearby but when they came, she was so jealous of those puppies, barking as if to say "But I chose you, I'm your puppy, not those babies!" It was over; she won our hearts!
We named her Holly because she was our Christmas present. The boys adored her. I wasn't a fan. She barked at everyone who came to the door, and every sound on the outside. She would bite anyone who seemed like they would threaten her boys. And she ran off when ever we opened the door! Usually, that was as we were running out the door for church or school. It made me livid!!! I could not stand that dog! Then one day she got out as we were trying to go to church and a little kid was playing outside, and with her idea that she must protect her boys, she bit at the ankle of one of the kids. The parents were so mad at me for letting the dog out. I was embarrassed.
Nelson was out of town and so we talked about it over the phone. It had become such a problem that we were concerned about our testimony in the neighborhood. So I gathered the boys together and explained that we had to get rid of her. Alexander, looked at me with tears in his eyes and responded "So mommy if I mess up and make mistakes are you going to get rid of me too?" His question broke my heart. Grace was extended, and somehow Holly began to win me over.Most likely it was because she began to be a pretty amazing dog! She killed the rats, mice, snakes and tarantula that were a terrible menaces in the DR. I started to call her Holly the Wonder Dog and she became part of the family. She even learned to sing! She and I would sing together and she had this amazing ability to match the pitch of a note that I was singing. She also hated when we traveled. She would get inside our suitcases as if today "Why don't you take me with you?"
When Troy went off to college, she missed him terribly. We would say "Where's Troy boy, Holly? WHere is he?" She would look up at us with a puzzled face and then she would search profusely for him sniffing every nook and cranny of the house, hoping to track him down.
Still, our Dominican dachshund got to travel more than most dogs when we brought her with us to live here in Texas. I always felt bad that her quality of life kinda went down coming here. There were no more rats to chase and kill, no sounds from the outside in our closed up home. No maid to be her companion by day. Still, she deserved to get old, fat, and incredibly lazy these past few years. She had been an amazing and faithful friend.
