Sometimes the best people in our lives are not people. That can be hard to understand unless you have one of these 4 legged people in your life. Sure they are hairy, they shed and sometimes they have dog breath. However they are put in our lives for a reason.
They show us how to love right from the very bottom of their heart, an all encompassing love.
They show us compassion even when we bring something on all by ourselves, they don’t say “I told you so” or berate us in any way. They instead place themselves by our side, and make their head available for a pat or a rub.
The pets in our lives show us a steadfast, never wavering devotion that is incomparable to any other type of devotion you could ever receive.
I have had the pleasure of having several of these types of “people” in my life.
This is the story of Snicklefritz, she was a questionable breed but her heart was never a question. From the moment I laid eyes on her I knew she was “the one”. She wasn’t “the one” for me but for my sister. She was a cute little furry black ball of sweet love right from the very start.
When my Sister showed me the two pups she liked, the other was an Australian Shepherd and something told me she wouldn’t be a fit. When I saw Snicklefritz, she was so silly and cute, and there was a line of people waiting to see her, they wanted to take her home. I pointed that out to my sister, at that point she scooped her up and opened her purse, took out some money to make room and put tiny little “Fritz” in her purse for safe keeping.
Now the homecoming was a little precarious due to the fact that she was un-expected and hubby felt that getting a pup was disrespectful of their older Cocker “Lou”. Eventually the dust settled and the bonding happened.
Amazing things happen when you bring a pup into your home. She seemed to be the missing part of a family jigsaw puzzle the way she fit it. 3 year old May claimed her as her own and made sure she had water, was fed and let out to use the bathroom, May was barely tall enough to reach the door handle to let her out.
Then a funny thing happened, this cute little all black fur ball started sprouting hair….and it wasn’t black hair. She grew a brown beard which was quite un-lady like and then to top it all off she got these whacky long brown eyebrows that she refused to pluck. She liked how they blocked the sun on those bright days in Central Oregon.
This little gal had it going on! She knew what needed to be done, she may not like it but she tolerated what ever that was. She had a knack for knowing when something was wrong or some one was sad, and she just took care of business in her own way.
Fritz was not my pup, she was my “Niece Pup” and she held a special place in my heart. When I was going through a difficult time and was staying at my sisters house, I didn’t want to get up in the mornings but that was hard to do with Fritz around. The first thing she would do in the morning is find me, jump on my “bed” and start digging and “rooting” around, kissing and letting me know her belly needed rubbing. After she got me all rustled around, we would both get up and start our day much happier for the morning greeting and silliness that she exuded.
The sad thing is that these little four legged people really do not live long enough, sometimes we think we will have them in our lives much longer than we actually get to have them.
They are ALWAYS taken from us too soon, before we have shown them all the love we have for them.
Sometimes we ask if they knew how devoted we are to them because they have shown us what it is to truly be devoted.
We want to know that they lived happy, full lives.
They are excellent at communication until it has to do with their pain or illness. Then they become stoic and don’t want us to worry, they suffer in silence.
We have to face the difficult task of making a decision and that is what my Sister had to do 3 weeks ago when she found out that Fritz had stomach cancer. We never want our pets to suffer but still we worry if we waited too long and if they are indeed in pain. The right decision is never an easy one but we know it is the right thing to do.
My sadness comes from being on a trip when we found out that she was terminally ill and that she would be gone before I got home and had a chance to say my goodbyes. Because of this fact, the sadness is staying in my heart a little longer, although I have said my goodbyes a thousand times since, it is not the same as having Fritz on my lap, looking into her eyes and understanding what we have in our hearts for one another. Her not being able to give me one last lick and me not being able to give her soft sweet belly one more loving stroke.
I know we should have had you much longer, but you were called home.
We love you and we miss you, our faithful friend Snicklefritz……
Ode to Fritz:
On the day we brought
our Fritzy home,
We didn’t know how much
she’d grow.
So fuzzy and cute, tiny
and small,
In no time what so ever
she was loved by all.
She came home, to keep
warm, inside my coat,
So snuggly and cute, put a
lump in your throat.
Her legs grew short, her body
grew so long,
She was a mighty midget,
her heart was very strong.
Her nose was black, as
dark as night,
Her tail was straight and
stood up right.
Man, that girl could run
so fast,
Chasing all the bikes
riding past.
A little skittish when around
any guys,
That always created a big
question WHY?
Black Fluffy hair so soft to
the touch,
Never knew we would love
her so much.
Just to see her would make
you say “wow”,
Cute face with a beard and
crazy eye brows.
There will only be one,
no Fritz coming after,
In our life we are closing
one great, big, huge chapter.
She will always be with us,
always be near,
Listen, be quiet and you can
feel her right here. (put your hand on your heart)
That sweet little pup is healthy
and whole,
Being an angel now is her
God given role.
Thank you for the lessons we have learned from you. We will never forget the way you made us feel. We can only hope that we made you feel as special as you made us feel.
Even now I can feel her, as I sit quietly and I put my hand over my heart. I know that her heart is beating the same beat and that she feels the love I have for her.
