Saturday, August 31, 2013

Spunky-Roo

My deepest apologies for the past few weeks of no blogging. I guess I have had writers block. Or rather the fact that I don’t want to have to write about what I am about to write about. Which is super confusing, but par for the course.  Frankly… it sucks. But I guess its one of the many stages of grief and I just have to get on with it. Please excuse the mistakes in spelling and poor grammar because I won’t be proofreading this one before I post it for fear of uncontrollable crying (not like I ever do that great of a job anyway-ha!) 
Its been a few months… since July 18th actually, that our very special family pet Spunky went to doggy heaven. When I was 20 and working at WalMart taking baby pictures I used to chum around and chat with all the WalMart employees that would walk past my studio. I had such fun visiting with a few of them we actually became friends. So when I found out that Michael and Mark his partner were moving out of state I was super disappointed and a little sad. That’s when they offered me Spunky. Really? A dog? You betcha. They explained that the place they were moving into would not allow pets and they needed to find a new home for him. I was their gal. At first I tried to change Spunky’s name to Max or Buster but to no avail. He was Spunky… my snaggle toothed, pug faced wiener dog… and I loved him instantly. They weren’t sure exactly how old he was but it didn’t matter. Over the years he was there by my side through marriage, two pregnancies and my father’s battle with cancer. He was always supportive (albeit stinky) and loved me no matter what. He kept the crook in my knees warm at night and I miss him terribly.
The girls (especially Kyra) have struggled with him being gone too. But it seems that everyday it hurts a little less and the great memories overpower the stingy tears. I finally was able to put up a picture in the house and here I am writing about him. I need to remember to celebrate him not keep the emotions locked up. It just sucks. Kyra cried the most when I told them but Bella cried the hardest. She was devastated when we finally told her. She begged for us to bring him back and after a few hours gave us an ultimatum… If you cant bring back my “dead dog”… I need a baby brother or a new girl dog. Straight faced and with all sincerity… it was heartbreaking and adorable all at the same time. Via didn’t struggle with him being gone really at all. I think when it was all said and done she was relieved that he was not around because towards the end there Spunky was nipping at the girls. It was only a matter of time before he got ahold of one of them and really hurt someone. I suppose its not totally his fault because the girls loved to pick on him. Not in a mean way but they just wouldn’t leave him alone. They used to dress him up, put jewelry and crowns on his head and even donned his royal leash leading him around the house. Miss Via was totally amazed by his “boy parts”… my kids are a breed all their own I swear.
Its odd too what will remind me of Spunky. Like the other day I was mowing the lawn and realized I didn’t have to pick up stay dog poop out of the grass. Which was a relief and a bummer all that the same time. OR when I came across one of his Halloween costumes and priced it for the rummage sale. I kept his Harley Davidson jacket and his collar. I had to. (and I had him cremated. Shhhh- don’t tell my mother- she thinks its creepy. Talking about creepy- originally I was going to have him stuffed… now that’s creepy- but I would have loved it). It breaks my heart, and I miss him a lot, but it was getting to the point where he couldn’t do the things he wanted to do. Mr. Spunky-Roo lived a nice long life (11 years or so) and next his buddy (my dad when we were on vacation) went to heaven on the afternoon of July 18th. It was sunny and warm and I was assured that he drifted peacefully to sleep… his favorite place to be. 

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