to maggie

Maggie was about one year old when she came into my sister and brother-in-law's lives.  She was beautiful, and well cared for, with toenails painted pink.  Someone loved her, and Vicky and Donnie spent weeks trying to find the owner, and never could. So Maggie became part of their family.



When she was about 2, she gave birth to a litter of puppies, and that was how I came to have Gabriel in my life.  She had a huge litter, and Vix kept Gabe's sister Molly, the only two chocolate Labs in the litter.

Maggie was a gentle dog, well behaved, unlike her progeny Molly and Gabe, who never learned that it was impolite to lick and maul everyone for attention. Vix told me not long after she got Maggie that Donnie was going to be the person Maggie attached herself to. I told her I knew a way to fix that. Then I showed her how to scratch Maggie in all the hard to reach places, like the middle of her back, and her chest under her chin. I told her to give her cheese and treats when Donnie wasn't looking.

She did and it worked like a dream. Molly became Donnie's dog after she was born, fetching things he dropped when he became wheelchair bound. But Maggie was Vicky's dog. Gentle and quiet, one of her favorite pastimes was to have Vicky vacuum her. Yes, that is right. When Maggie heard Vicky running the vacuum, she would find her and Vicky would have to stop and vacuum Maggie.

Maggie was about 15 we figure, when she died yesterday.  Vicky said she had a stroke or something, and could barely walk, and shook and trembled when she tried to stand up. So Vix did the right thing. She called Lap of Love, and they came to her house and put Maggie down with compassion and kindness. Vix said she spent the last two hours of Maggie's life sitting beside her under her favorite tree. That was where Maggie was when she died, with Vicky and Molly by her side.

Pets bring a lot of love and happiness into our lives. They make us laugh, aggravate us at times, can be a nuisance, and are always there when you need unconditional acceptance and love.

Maggie was much more than a pet.  Maggie was family.

We will all miss her, but most of all my sister will miss her.

...some days, life is sad...
~cath
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter

This photo is for day 20 of NaBloPoMo, in response to the prompt #drama.