The Beloved Hotdog

Letting go of a beloved pet is an emotional thing that I have experienced before. But this time, it was so different. Hotdog came to me when she was 10-weeks old. My mother, and her mother, conspired together and  when I saw this Abyssinian I could not say no. With her long legs and skinny body, pointed ears, triangle face and beautiful tiger grey and black striped fur; with the solid black hind legs, I fell in love with her instantly. We traveled together. When I went home to bury mom and again when mom's marker was set on her grave, the Dawg became a high-mileage road dawg. Each trip was 1,000 miles. Dawgie loved  road trips. But most of all, she liked her territorial domain, especially where ever there was a chair that I sat in at home. Dawgie claimed that chair, as every other chair that I owned.

After a precursor with a lung infection two years ago, she had returned to normal activities until 10-days ago. She went down hill fast and it became very obvious that she labored in pain. The vet thought that she might come out of it but when she didn't she leveled with me that she had suspected cancer in the lungs. She went to sleep peacefully before the vet administered the final dose. It was painful to watch but I was not leaving the Dawg's side.
After leaving the vet's office. I could not go home. I spent the afternoon on a hillside at White Rock Lake. There was excitement at the lake because a bald eagle  had been sighted about a half-hour before I got there. I had first seen two bald eagles at White Rock three years ago. Today, of all days, the eagle was back shortly after the Dawg entered eternal sleep. The Dawg was still working her magic! She is enshrined in my heart for ever and I miss her deeply.