The best canine parents I know lost their eleven and a half year old cocker spaniel this weekend and are completely shattered, as we all were and will be again when it happens to us.
I'm hoping Jim and Larry eventually get a new dog, which seems impossible to even think about now that the pain is so raw and intense, but if everyone felt that the pain of losing a dog was so great that there could never be another canine member in the house, man's best friend would certainly die out as a population. . You can't replace the dog, but you CAN replace the love for another. You couldn't buy another parent or child or sibling or spouse when suffering from the loss of one, but you can and should find a furry companion to fill that void. When we had to put down our beloved poodle Max in 2009, Jim wanted a new dog right away. After fourteen and a half years, he could not get used to the barkless house, Evan and I were skeptical, but Jim volunteered to do all the hard work. I eventually gave in, as long as we'd have the summer off so we needn't worry about rushing home to a puppy. I actually wanted another male miniature poodle..a chocolate we'd call Max II. Jim was OK about the breed and size, but he definitely wanted a new name and color. I thought we'd join the KENNEL-literation club, as I called it, since we seemed to meet so many dogs with names starting with the letter "L", like my new dog niece Lulu and my new neighbor Leo. Dog experts say that one syllable names are great for training and learning new commands, thus Luke was named before he was even picked out from a reputable poodle breeder. I was all set to not only replace the love of a poodle but to have Max, the Sequel, ready to start in the fall of 2009.
And I couldn't have been more naive.
So here are my five thoughts:
1) Max lived to retrieve tennis balls..he was the master who'd regale spectators at the park with his sheer determination and athleticism, Luke wouldn't care about tennis balls if they contained life-sustaining properties. Two throws and he's out.
2) We could take Max on any vacation to any place that allowed dogs. We could trust him to be left in the room alone for hours while we enjoyed beach days. Luke is now six, and his puppy chewing stage will be as permanent at as poodle tail puff. He treats comforters, quilts, pillows, and bedding in general like costly chew toys. I joke that the sheets we have to replace so often have enough holes that it looks like we're getting ready for an Orthodox wedding. The late Zach's canine father Jim suggested Linus for Luke's name(Evan didn't want it) but it's true, maybe if he had been a Linus he would have loved and respected security blankets.
3) Max started off a deep chocolate brown color and eventually faded to a Michael Jackson white. Luke is supposed to be apricot, but I can't see it. I am literally color blind when it comes to describing his fur. I can't imagine that even the most gifted artist could ever find the right tone.
4) Max was a picky eater, and eventually, Jim would have to make him a hamburger nightly on the George Foreman grill. But he'd eat...! Luke..well..let's just say that Luke could never be my biological child, in more ways than the obvious that we're not the same species, because he's the worst eater I've ever seen. Sometimes he'll eat the canned Beneful chicken flavored dog food, most of the time he won't. He'll sniff the cut up Perdue chicken that most shoppers buy to feed their FAMILIES, but he actually prefers playing with food to eating it. He refuses to use a bowl, so early on, we realized we're going to have to pollute the environment and use a paper plate, to be discarded daily. You've never seen anything like Luke at mealtime, if there even IS such a thing as meal time. Food gets pushed, flipped over, and eventually covered with plush toys. I dare you to figure that one out.
5) My poodle sons are so different that one of that might as well have been a lizard, but they do have this in common: Both have filled our home with joy, frustration, anger, hilarious laughter, controversy, stress, and barking..lots and lots of barking...
o'KAY. That's FIVE
