DIED 2012
GOOD MORNING, LADIES OF the dog world! my neighbor would trill at 5 a.m. Since she was just on the other side of the wall in the duplex we share, it was a good thing that this was the very hour my eyes popped open of their own accord. My neighbor, a soft-edged blonde no older than I, lived alone with two dogs and a cat. Sally, being part border collie, was a bit smarter than her younger companion, Kayley, a shepherd mutt. Chase the Cat had moved in from a few doors down.
After that morning greeting, my neighbor would address a running commentary to her pets throughout the day, usually on topics of mutual interest, such as the weather, the plans for a walk, or the prohibition against eating poo. I say this not in judgment but as a woman who is more or less married to a thirteen-year-old miniature dachshund, a mostly deaf dog called by a dozen different silly names and serenaded daily with customized theme songs.
Sally had a long decline, but after she could no longer stand, my neighbor called the mobile vet to come with her syringe. Kayley and Chase went to her son’s house during the procedure; when they returned, Sally’s body had been stowed in the back of the RAV4 until the opening of the crematorium at the SPCA. I learned all this when I came outside and found my neighbor gently leading Kayley to the car to view the body. After the dog had said her goodbyes, my neighbor took her inside and came out carrying Chase the Cat. I’m giving them closure, she explained.
At the time, I thought this was over the top, but having just read a book on animal grief—the mourning of sea turtles, dolphins, rabbits, and horses—I learned she did just the right thing. Luckily, Kayley and Chase still had each other, and neither went on to exhibit the classic symptoms of bereavement: loss of appetite, lethargy, unusual howling or yowling, pacing or keeping vigil. By the time Kayley died three years later, my neighbor had begun to pad her pack. I think there might be three or four cats over there now. With my daughter leaving for college next fall, I’ve followed her lead, taking in a young puss to keep me and the dachshund company. Good morning, lovey pets, good morning!