miss winnie dixon this week at our big rock a stop along our morning walk
she listens to my woes
she laughs at all my jokes
she sits patiently and waits while I stop to investigate something
a shell, a worn piece of beach glass an insect or a piece of bone
when I stop to take photographs she sits quietly just looking around
she's looking for muskrats, groundhogs or cats that don't belong to her
she is a terrier girl with a bit of sight hound thrown in
she's on a leash often because of this - if she spied a small moving mammal
she'd be off, gone like a shot and there would be no calling her back
and I couldn't bare to lose her - so I keep her close by me
she's 10, she'll be 11 in January - how can that be - it seems like only yesterday
she came to live with us when she was 1, from the shelter
she loved Jake & Em instantly, they became her pack - she fit right in
it seems to me like she's always been here
I can't remember what my life might have been like without her
we've said some big goodbyes, she and I and we've lived through big sadness
she loves to keep me company in the car when I do errands
again she sits patiently waiting, keeping the car safe and keeping my seat warm
she sleeps in a bed under my desk while I work
and she lays curled at my feet on my bed while I sleep
she loves to just sit on the grassy hill overlooking the harbour
each evening we both stare up at the clouds racing across a blue sky
above the glistening water
I lie down and she lies down beside me and I hold her paw in my hand
and we just lie there, the breeze blowing over us and nothing
in the world seems to matter
I put my face in her fur and I breathe in and I try to burn these memories in
how she smells, the funny little groaning noises she makes if I scratch her just so
into me - I try to burn her into my heart so I'll always have her ... with me
and I tell her how much I love her over and over again
and I wish we could stay there, like that - forever.
It sounds like she's the perfect companion. I love that you hold her paw in your hand.
ReplyDeleteHi, Susan. Such a sweet companion you have.
ReplyDeleteYou are burning her into our hearts too! :)
ReplyDeletethanks chez caesar - what a lovely thought that is
ReplyDeleteSweet Winnie. I just want to rub her furry bearded face and then go crab hunting. Do you really think she'd run off and leave you?
ReplyDeleteChez Caesar hit the nail on the head! I love Miss Winnie Dixon as if she were one of my own furry brood! I start every day looking at that sweet face on this blog. She has become family to me and I treasure her existence with every breath. Susan, I so "get" how you want to burn these precious moments into your psyche so you can hold them forever. The last few years with my Bo I knew we were living on borrowed time and I sometimes wept over the certain knowledge that he would have to leave me. The end came far too soon, although he lived a full and happy life. Still, 8 1/2 years later, I am still lonesome for his companionship, which was like no other. Tears roll down my face as I write. I am only consoled with the belief that I WILL see him again one day and once again cover that tender black head with kisses.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I send adoring love to Winnie across the many miles that separate us and cuddle close with the 10 little charges that God has sent my way to attend on their journey through this life.
Have a wonderful day all!
Such a sweet tribute. Missy has loving eyes.
ReplyDeleteYeah...about that distance thing...it's a good thing cuz I'd be stealin' all my blog buddies' dogs for my own Dogtopia. It's much better this way. All the joy but none of the drool, poop or occasional tag along blood sucking critters.
ReplyDeleteMiss D just melts my heart. She reminds me of our Frisket, with her caramel-colored eyes. Very soulful, that girl. :) What a dear friend to you.
ReplyDeleteShe's a beauty Susan!
ReplyDeleteShe really does become another dog when there's a small mammal (running preferably) or rodent and if that rodent is perhaps a muskrat. She's gone completely - mad. After all she is mostly Scottish muskrat hound (distant cousin to the Irish Wolfhound) and I kid not I have had to pull her out of more than one watery culvert. She becomes totally possessed when she's muskrat hunting, breathing hard, eyes glazed over not at all the Miss D for demure, the I'm just gonna sit here and look all cute Miss D that you see here on this blog ... and we really do "have" to be very careful with cats that aren't her own. The introduction of Gus & Oliver three years ago as tiny kittens was an extremely long and drawn out (2-3week) production involving a big wire dog kennel (for the kittens) and lots of gradual meetings on leash. I didn't totally trust Winnie for a long time. She loves them now but it's only because they're "her" kittens. Well, and Bleet thinks he's a dog, he always has - so Winnie thought so too.
ReplyDeleteAhh my Marley girl is turning 10 this year and it is so bittersweet. She is finally old enough to be calm - instead of a rambunctious puppy dog - and at the same time I see the creakiness settling in - making her move more slowly in the mornings and taking her time to greet me at the door.
ReplyDeleteHow we love our pups. How therapeutic and loving they are - our best friends.
You express it so perfectly, especially the last paragraph. There is no love that compares to what we share with our dogs.
ReplyDelete