Ground Dog Day

Two years ago today, I owned one dog. CruiserDog. And we were happy. Our lives would change by 3:00 pm that afternoon.

I was at the office when I got a call from S, weeping in the phone, wanting to find out how to get to the SPCA of Texas.

CruiserMel: What? Why?

S: Because I just saw this little dog being abandoned and we can't possibly take her in, so I've got to take her to the SPCA and they're gonna euthanize her for sure, because she's got this huge tumor on her and...

CruiserMel: Alright. Bring the dog here. I'll pay to get her checked out at the vet.

S: Be there in a .... oh wait, I'm out front.

Yeah, I should've known that "sucker" was written right there on my forehead when my office is NOT on the way to the SPCA, but I was blindsided by the thought of a little sweetums being abandoned in the middle of a busy street nearby.

There she (well, found out later it was a he) was in the Volvo cowwering at the far side of the backseat.

CruiserMel: Can you do any tricks? Can you shake?

Little Pomeranian Mix: *shake* *moving closer* *snuggle*

CruiserMel: Okay, let's go.

I skipped out of work and headed for the vet. Little Pomeranian Mix was a dude. With a cancerous testicle. They called him the "ball and chain" at the vet, where over the next 3 days he stayed in a kennel/cage and won the hearts of all who were lucky enough to meet him. He even pee'd on the doctor's head as she was visiting the larger dog kennelled below Mickey's cage. He was a little Casanova. Loved cookies. Loved toys. Loved life.

During his stay at the vet's office he lost the ball and chain, but kept the nickname. He also tested positive for heartworms. Oh yeah, there are no free dogs, people. Several hundred dollars later, I was the proud owner of a de-balled, heartworm treated Pomeranian with a personality as big as Dallas.

How would CruiserDog handle not being the only-dog? Well, for some reason, my never-socialized CruiserDog was able to welcome little Mickey into our home...but only if Mickey had to sleep in a crate while CruiserDog got the royal treatment of sleeping on the "big bed" with Mommy. Otherwise, they were brothers, through and through.

For the next 14 months, we all lived as a family. He got the nickname of MickeyMoto. He loved it when my cellphone rang and said "Hello, Moto." Mickey dug life. Life was the coolest thing in the whole world to him. His outlook was more positive than that of any human I've met. He woke with a smile everyday. He slept with a smile everynight, secure in the feeling that he had a "Mudda and brudda who love me." Sometimes, he'd get that Ray Charles look on his face, the one where he'd throw his head back and smile the widest of smiles and just revel in the glory that was life on this planet.

Mickey would eat CruiserDog's food and dog cookies and F with his toys. Mickey added color, shall I say, to Mommy's white carpet almost everyday he lived with us. He would bark so sharply that the glass-break detectors would go off and cause the burglar alarm to activate. He would get so excited that he was getting a tummy-rub that he couldn't lay still. And CruiserDog would roll his eyes at me but somehow he understoood that Mickey needed to be with us. We were chosen to be his mommy and brudda.

Then came that awful day in April 2006 when he couldn't stop coughing. It scared Mommy and even scared CruiserDog. That little trooper hopped himself into the car to go to the vet at 11:00 pm. The car was awesome to Mickey. When he coughed up blood at the vet's office I knew this wasn't good, but I didn't know what was ahead. Not a clue. I got a call at 5:00 am to come. In a daze and at lightning speed, I drove to the overnight emergency vet's office. I'd called S. She was there before me. Innately, I knew what had to happen next when I saw him struggling for breath, yet smiling that famous Mickey smile. The decision was easy. Afterall, he'd waited for me to get there.

Everyone loved Mickey. I still sense he's with us. And he's made us all a little more appreciative of life, for knowing him.

'Night night. See you in the mornin' light, MickeyMoto. I know you're waiting for me at The Rainbow Bridge. Miss you, baby boy.