By Kelly Lewis
Do you have a special furry someone in your life? Mine was a tall, skinny black labradoodle with white spots, floppy ears, and a long face. Her name was Maggie Elizabeth Lewis (yes, I gave my dog my middle name). A few weeks ago my family unexpectedly lost Maggie. We were all distraught. I’m still grieving the loss of my furry best friend, but I want to reflect on how lucky I was to have her in my life.
After years of my brother and me begging our parents for a dog, they finally caved in 2010. I still remember the excitement of going to pick out our new puppy. All the puppies were black, but there was one that stood out to us, who had a few white spots on her chest and paws and was extremely playful. We brought her home that hot summer day and named her Maggie. Picking her out of the litter and choosing her name was the easiest decision my family ever reached together.
Maggie was our first family pet, so it was similar to bringing a newborn baby home; we all had to adapt. She whined a lot and we slowly started to see her personality traits. Her main trait was persistence, or what I call - stubbornness. We attempted to crate train her, but she didn’t like it, so she used her cute face to convince my parents otherwise. From that night on, Maggie slept at my parent's bedside.
Although Maggie was smart, she could never figure out the concept of fetch. When we would throw the tennis ball, she would chase after to retrieve it, but then she turned it into a game of keep away. Maggie always refused to surrender the ball, so we had tons of them scattered in our yard. It was the one toy Maggie wouldn’t destroy.
Maggie loved to run free in our yard and smell everything. She had two favorite spots, the front porch and the back deck. During the warmer months, my family and I like to eat outside on the back deck, which my dad constructed with a built-in bench. One time while eating, Maggie jumped up onto the bench to get a better view and sniff the food. From then on, that was her go-to spot. She loved sitting or lying on that bench next to us. She also loved watching the cars go down the street from the front porch and waiting for her humans to come home. If you ask any of our neighbors they will refer to Maggie as the black dog that sits awkwardly on the front steps. She found a way to put her butt on the top step and her long front paws on the lower step. It wasn’t awkward for her because she had such long legs.
Maggie was also very known in the neighborhood because she accompanied my mom on a three-mile walk every day. Maggie loved being active and exploring. Unfortunately, she tore her ACL a few years back and had to stop going on walks with my mom. Maggie is persistent, stubborn, but smart, so she would whine and cry when she saw my mom leave for a walk. It got so bad that my mom had to sneak out of the house. Maggie never understood the concept of rest - she thought she was still able to go on long walks. Her body couldn’t keep up with her brain, but still, she continued to run, jump, and play with my brother.
Eventually, Maggie welcomed her older years, slowing down a bit, and lounging around the house more. However, she still jumped up every time she heard the garage open, the doorbell ring, or the cheese drawer open in the fridge. She didn’t like being alone when she knew someone was in the house. If we were in the living room she would be on her bed in the same room and if we moved to the dining room, she moved with us. She truly showed me and my family that a dog is more than just a dog. We loved Maggie dearly and I hope she thought we gave her a great life. I could go on and on about Maggie and her amazing attributes and the ways she impacted my life. She was a gentle giant, a goofball, who loved following my dad around the house and basking in the sun.
On Saturday, February 12, my family had to make the toughest decision ever: to put Maggie down or have an extremely complicated surgery to potentially - no guarantee - fix her flipped stomach. We all agreed one last time, to let Maggie go peacefully. My mom was by her side while my brother, dad, and I were on the phone. Although Maggie was almost 12 years old, this condition came unexpectedly. I didn’t get to give Maggie one last hug goodbye. It happened so quickly. So, please if you have a special furry one, give them a tight squeeze and show your appreciation. And remember that animals do more for us than we think.
I will leave you with this excerpt from the TikTok account @the_mischievous4
“Did you ever wonder why dogs don’t have to stay on earth as long as humans do? When our loved ones come home we always run to say ‘hello.’ We never pass up an opportunity to go for a walk. We run, jump, and play daily. We let people touch us. We avoid biting when just a growl is enough. On warm days we lay on the grass. When we are happy we dance around and wag our tail. And when our dearest humans have a bad day, we stay silent, sit close, and gently snuggle with them to make them feel better. Humans are born so they can learn how to live a good life. Us dogs already know how to do that, and that’s the reason why we don’t have to stay that long.”
View the TikTok that inspired this piece: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSSYPba/
