December 22

For years, I have been begging my husband to let us get a dog.  Years.  He finally agreed in June to let us get one.  So, I began searching for the perfect family dog.  Of course, I have since come to realize that no dog is perfect.  Those were my lofty dreams.  I wanted a dog that wouldn’t poop where it wasn’t supposed to,  would sleep when I wanted it to, would bark only when barked at, would not scratch my floors, and was loyal and devoted.  Basically, I wanted a giga-pet, but I didn’t know that at the time.

We found Gibbs at an animal shelter about 2 hours away.  They had plenty of dogs.  He was the only one that didn’t jump on us when we approached him. He didn’t bark like the others. And when we took him out to the yard, he was calm and quiet.  Deceptive little thing.

We took him home and learned quickly what having a 6 month old puppy in the house was like.  Definitely not like my trusty dependable Tamogatchi. He was barky and loud and whiney at all the wrong times. He didn’t like being alone and would lay at my feet under my desk all day long. 

It didn’t take long though, to get a routine.  I began walking and training for a 10K and started walking at least 3 miles a day all summer long.  My trusty companion joined me every day.  At first he tugged and pulled and wanted to run ahead.  But, after a while, we figured out the walk.  He was my motivator to keep walking every day.  Mostly because without his walk, he was unbearable. 

He was an energetic dog.  Very energetic.  We would go to the park and when we got to the clearing, I would let him off his leash, and he would run as fast as he could for as long as I let him. 

One day in October,  I walked out to the car and he followed me. He always wanted to jump in the car and go with me every time I went somewhere.  But, this time he must’ve seen something to chase.  He ran straight into the street and into the path of an oncoming car.  I heard the tire screech and didn’t even know what had happened it was that fast.  He died an hour later at the vet clinic.  His internal injuries were too severe. 

I miss him.