For almost 11 years my best four footed pal has been a little white fur ball named Mollie. Eleven years ago next month my sister and I drove to Crystal Lake to see a breeder who bred "teacup" Maltese and Yorkie pups. Judi has a history of "encouraging" me when I want to bring a new dog into my life. The last time had been about 20 years before when she helped me find Tiffany, my first Maltese. After my wonderful experience with Tiffany I knew that I wanted another Maltese. They are very loyal and very smart dogs .... and Tiffany was fairly easy to housebreak and train ... and I need EASY when it comes to those two things.We got to the breeder's house and saw the puppies .. a Maltese and a Yorkie ... I wanted a female and knew they had one of each. Both puppies were adorable of course ... but I immediately fell in love with the Maltese. I was "sold" right away ... it was a good thing Judi was there 'cuz she knew what questions to ask. I was already in love .... all of my questions had flown out of my head! So she told him we needed to think about it and we would get back to him in an hour or two. I didn't need to think about a thing but Judi and I left and went to a nearby restaurant .... had appetizers and a drink and talked. We both agreed that this was the puppy I was looking for. We went back to the breeder, with my check book in hand! I've never been sorry!!
An hour later we were driving back to Wheaton with this little white ball of fluff. You couldn't tell her front end from her rear .... she weighed just 3.2 pounds. While Judi drove home I tried to hold my "baby" but she kept crawling up my chest .... only wanting to sit on my shoulder and snuggle into my neck .... we fell in love that Sunday. Soon after I got her settled into my condo .... I named her Mollie. A few days later I remembered that my Grandmother's name was Molly .... and that those who knew her talked about how smart and fiesty she was! The following years would show that my Mollie followed in Molly Ball's foot steps!!! She was extremely smart and the groomer and vet can attest to how fiesty she was!! But best of all she thrived on attention and loved to be held and cuddled.
Several weeks ago Mollie suddenly got very sick. Several days later the vet and I reluctantly agreed that she should be "put to sleep". She was in a lot of pain and her prognosis was extremely poor. I just couldn't bear to see her suffer any more. It was a hard day. It all happened so suddenly and I was so not prepared!!
I miss her every day. It has taken me a while to be able to write this. If you are a "dog person" you will understand the loss ..... and if you aren't ..... going into more details won't really mean much to you. A friend sent me the poem "The Rainbow Bridge" .... at first reading it was painful ... but as the days have gone by and I have sort of gotten used to her not greeting me every time I walk through the door .... I have found comfort in the though it expresses: Just this side of heaven is a place, the Rainbow Bridge, where our pets are playing and are well and happy. Someday we will see them again and we will cross the bridge together.
I will always miss her companionship, unconditional love, the non-stop kisses she gave with her little pink tongue, and those big black trusting eyes that never let me out of her sight! Even in the end ... she knew I was loving her and taking care of her ......
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| Mollie .... sitting on my knitting project ... it's soft .. why not? |
