Good Mourning..

Without a thought, I’ll deliver a good morning greeting to most everyone in my path but as the sun rises this day my greetings are sadly gray. Yet again, a moment of loss as one of our sweet companions has made her way over the Rainbow Bridge. Sweet Pea, a senior pooch of roughly sixteen plus years of age, had been taking medications for her heart for several years and time has finally caught up with her.

Her life was spent in service of my family where she provided much love and attentiveness to any that was in need of comfort. She was a beautifully petit rough coated Jack Russell Terrier with a fiery tenacious spirit that by nature, loved the hunt no matter if it were chipmunks or just rooting through mounds of soil digging holes. She was most happy filthy, covered in mud from head to toe and always proud of her handy-work left in her wake. Throughout her many years I’d not seen one vermin encounter in all of those holes, but never-you-mind as the joy she brought to her furry friend Baxter was more than enough payment for her time.

She and Baxter were a team, a couple of hooligans, in search of self indulging entertainment and usually at the expense of others, but not in a bad way, just seemingly endless barking. Most often, our neighbors, with whom we share a fence, received the brunt of it; though a knock at the door or a reflection through the window would arouse such clamor that it became their early warning system to inform me that Bonita was home from her expeditions.

I recall Baxter gazing at me last night as if he was trying to understand what was happening to Pea and why her routines were changing as she became more erratic and restless and our return from the emergency vet without her. This morning I felt sad as he came down from the bedroom to the den where he stopped and smelled around the places where Sweet Pea was last. He paused and looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and it was immediately clear that he was remembering the night before and Pea’s departure. For a bit he was unsure of where he wanted to go as he would turn left for a step or two, then right a step, a pause and repeated again. Now he’s resting on the sofa atop one of their blankets. These two have been inseparable since early 2009 and now, for him, a new, more single and lonelier chapter has begun.

One of Sweet Pea’s greatest  pleasures was snuggling. She was cold natured, loved being wrapped in a blanket and wedged in small tight spaces as Russell’s are well known for when going to ground. She wasn’t particular to where as it could be In a lounger, or even better, pressed firmly beside you in bed. Bonita and I were amazed by how such a little twelve pound dog could seemingly push us off the bed and it wasn’t a bad thing, as her warmth was golden, even in summer. When it came to snuggling, Annabella just loved holding her, even to Pea’s displeasure, she was the perfect size for a little girl. 

  

There are many stories from over the years that I have stored up in memories of Sweet Pea. The day we first met, Sweet Pea stole my heart, later became the perfect compliment for her buddy Baxter, and was the sweetest, most cuddliest, toughest pound for pound alpha dog a person could ever hope to share their life with.

Happy dreams my dear Sweet Pea. 

Sweet memories of your love and devotion I’ll cherish.

My weary eyes and nightless sleep, this lonely void in my heart runs deep.

Goodbye Sweet Pea, I’ll miss the love from you.