Trixie, In Memoriam

     In 1997 a friend's dog had puppies. Having gotten our first dog the previous year, we thought we could convinced our parents to let us have one of the puppies. We were successful and, after much debate over which puppy, brought home the one that we'd been referring to as Mud-Face. She was a pale blond except for on her face, which was a light brown. We liked the name (we were 13), but Mom said that it wasn't an acceptable name for a dog. Our brother picked Trixie, as in Speed Racer's girlfriend. She ended up outgrowing her coloring, so the name change worked out.

     Trixie was different from our other dog. She was a bit more standoffish and wanted to do what she wanted to do. Sometimes I would say that her personality was more cat-like.  If she didn't want to do something, she just ignored you. She looked a little silly too. Upon seeing her for the first time, my grandmama exclaimed "that's a dog?" If we let her fur grow out, she was something of a ball of fluff. I would sometimes call her my dandelion dog.  She loved cheese and would run across the house at the sound of the wrapper being removed.

     Last week Trixie got sick, so we took her to the vet. We had x-rays done which showed a lump in her lung. At close to 15 years old we decided to give her medication and hope for the best. Unfortunately she declined rapidly and, only 10 days after first showing signs of illness, passed away quietly at home. The last few days have just been heartbreaking, seeing what was coming but not being able to do anything to prevent it.

     Loosing our two childhood dogs within just a little more than a year of each other has been difficult. It feels like an ending to something, I'm not sure what.  Betsey and Trixie brought a lot of love and happy memories to our family, ones that we will cherish forever.