Bill's Musings

     9-1/2 trips around the sun. 3,470 days. 399,744,000 heart beats. 1 billion hugs and kisses.

     Oh, Bob…. .how I have loved you. When they said that dogs are man’s best friend, they must have been talking about you. In the 9-1/2 years you blessed us with your presence, you were larger than life. Full of energy. A cuddle master. A friend to our other dogs. Space taker. Doorbell. Our savior from home invasions, sketchy delivery people, squirrels, the wind, occasional visitors…. you took your place and stood proud and mighty against the onslaught thrown against us.

     You leave us with an unbelievable number of great memories of you. I hope that we loved you enough back, that you felt comfortable, warm, safe, and adored. I hope that I treated you with the respect and love you surely deserved. I hope that, in your final moments, as you laid in my arms and breathed your last breaths, you were released from your pain and joined your love, Leia, at the Rainbow Bridge. I hope you now can run and bark and leap to your heart’s content. And I pray that one day we will be reunited once more, so I can smell you and hold you, run with you, snuggle you and squeeze you tightly.

     Not gonna lie….I miss you so much it hurts to breathe at times. At any moment I stumble upon something of yours, or a random sock, or hear a bark that sounds like yours, and I am instantly brought back to you. Many cannot understand the depths of what you meant to me…. but thankfully many can. These last 4 years, when I almost didn’t come home, you were one of the most important spokes in the wheel of my recovery. Total love. When I could barely move, you were there. When I started to heal, you were there. When all I could do was sit a bit, then lay down…. you were there. Whenever I was low, slow, sick, well, had snacks, had a bath, went to the washroom, went outside for 2 minutes…. you were there.

    Those 4 years taught me more about myself than my previous 56 years. I learned what really mattered, that no matter who loves you with such abandon needs to be cherished. Our family unit got even tighter. Which is what is going to get me through your absence.

     Would I recommend to anyone that a Miniature Schnauzer is a good choice? It depends. If someone likes a companion, a loyal buddy, a portable doorbell, a quirky goof that sporadically listens but mostly does not, a dog that thinks you were gone for 5 years when all you did was take out the garbage, one who gets so excited when you walk in the door after work that you feel like a rock star, a dog who loves to sleep in your bed and does not apologize for doing so….then yes, I would definitely recommend it. But be warned. They are addictive.

     Things are so quiet here now, Bob. Your presence was large, but the hole you left is even larger. For the first time in many years people show up at the house and nobody warns us. It’s like Maddie, Lola, and Willy have decided that they will stop doing so because you were the ring leader. Which, of course, you were.It will take some time for us to adapt. We will, but it will always be different now.

    Thanks to everyone who messaged me, or took the time to call. I know that everyone who has a pet goes through this. I know it is no more painful for me as for anyone else. But sharing this for me is my way of keeping the memory of the greatest dog I ever had the privilege to share a home with alive.

     Everybody should have a Bob.