Skip to main content

Mama D



Have you read Marley & Me? I've been thinking about that book a lot today. It's a classic story of a man and his dog. I love Marley because he is a less than perfect dog and his owner has a love/hate relationship that over time just becomes love.


Our pets are our family for better or worse. Dingo is our dog. Like most of our pets, we inherited her. She was born somewhere in New Mexico and roamed the land as a pup before being adopted by my brother-in-law. When he moved to Boston, she moved in with us.


I was incredibly reluctant to take her. Alright, I was enraged. The in-laws all tricked me into taking her by telling me they were going to put her down if we didn't let her live with us. It turns out she had a willing foster parent in New Mexico but they shipped her to us anyway.


I'll never forget our first day with her. I wanted to hate her just because she was a burden I did not want. That first night, I arrived home from work and it was raining. She was in the dog cage, huddling and waiting by the door. I ran right to her, opened the door and knelt down to embrace her. Her big brown eyes and wiggling body were hard not to like.


Those first few weeks weren't the easiest. I learned that Dingo likes to chase anything that moves and I should be careful not to let the leash wrap around my legs as she lurches forward. I learned that Dingo likes to eat and roll in dead stuff. I learned that Dingo has horribly bad gas.


I also learned that Mama Dingo is a wonderful surrogate mother who cared for each of the kittens as though they were her own. She is also my guardian and often, my companion. When I was pregnant, Dingo became incredibly defensive and protective of me. She is the same way with Caroline. Caroline, who she lets roll over her, ride her, squeeze her. They share food. They run around the yard and curl up in front of the stove together. When we walk into the mud room, Caroline pushes her face up against the door's window and yells excitedly for her "D! D! DD!"


Ten wood chucks. A squirrel and chick. Almost a rooster. She's a hunter and a killer. She brings her trophies to the front lawn, proudly displaying her kill. She loves to go for car rides and pushes her way out the door when we try to leave her behind. Her legs move wildly in her sleep, like she is chasing an animal in some beautiful, dream field.


Last night DD did not run to the door when we opened it. She didn't rush to eat her food or push Caroline out of the way to get to the door to pee. She just looked at me, her big eyes sad and her body shaking. We took her to the vet first thing this morning to learn the scary and sad news that Dingo probably has lymphoma cancer and 2-4 months to live.


Tonight Andy and Caroline took her for a long walk up the hills behind our house. I'm sure Caroline tried her best to keep up with Dingo who ran around her in circles. My best friend by accident, Dingo has been a steadfast companion and true member of our family. She's had a good life and she's given us so much love.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Somebody Who Matters

At first glance, one may not think that my mom and I are alike. Moe is shy and reserved. She's calm and thoughtful. She's a good listener and keeps things to herself. She's grounded and sensible. She's practical. You may be laughing now if you know me. I'm loud and outspoken. I'm dramatic and irrational. I talk too much and share too much. My head is often in the clouds and I lack common sense. I 'm a dreamer. How did this kid come from that mom? Well, if you know me, you also know that my mom has had the greatest impact on me and that we are actually very much alike. For example, Moe isn't really shy or reserved. She's just waiting for the right time to tell you what she thinks and you're going to hear it whether or not you like it. She uses the F-bomb freely, and sometimes inappropriately. In her own right, she is a feminist. She's a loyal friend. She's the family organizer. She has a quirky sense of humor and knows not to take hersel...

Reflections on Summer with the Girls

I've been thinking all week long about how to summarize my summer home with the girls. For me, one who is never short on words, I just can't quite figure out how to explain the last eight weeks.A poem, or two, perhaps? How quickly work fades/When two little faces smile./Can I stop time, please? A real summer here,/Made for easy days at lake./Everyone is tan. Three mile point love./Makes winters here easier./Beautiful upstate. Caro is a fish./Handstands, front crawl, doggy paddle./So proud of my girl. Char pees on the pot/sometimes but not every time./She gets candy, yay! Oh Canada trip./Thank you to Grams and Opa./Memories for life. Visits with Nana./Got in the lake, yes she did!/So proud of her, too! Days spent with good friends./Playing is so tiring./Let it never end. Me: stay at home mom./Borderline insanity./Hardest job ever. In trying to draft something for this post, I looked back at my posts from last year at this time and I felt relief. Well, first, ...

Facebook Reality Check

I am a big facebook user. No, I don't play Farmville or Candy Crush Saga but I spend at least 15 minutes on the site daily. I have read many articles about how facebook kills one's self esteem because people use the site to boast and brag about their awesome lives, which in turn makes others feel badly about their own. We all know that facebook is a slice of one's life or maybe a projection of the life they want to live. Anybody who isn't a fool should realize that. As a frequent facebooker and hardcore extrovert, with a lack of a strong filter, I find this whole situation to be a dilemma. What is worse, reading about someone's awesome day and seeing a picture of how fabulous they looked during their awesome day, or reading about their terrible day, looking at angry political memes, or rants about the bad customer service they received? Do you want to read about how someone had the best night ever with their bestest buds (you not included) or that they have been ...