Stallard: These dog days are worth remembering

Published 5:45 am Saturday, December 25, 2021

I made a friend Tuesday.

We hit it off right away, but I was informed pretty quickly I shouldn’t get too full of myself. According to her dad, Lucy loves everyone.

I’ll never see Lucy again, and I’m sad about that. This will be her last Christmas, but man, what a Christmas it’s going to be.

Lucy is a large, beautiful Labrador Retriever, and we ran into each other — literally — at a local pet store while I was there getting food for Sarge and Bentley, our almost famous dogs, and Freeloader and Murphy, the cats that adopted us a few years ago.

I rounded a corner and almost tripped over Lucy, who had stumbled trying to get off the floor while her dad filled a shopping cart with treats and toys.

“Sorry about that,” the dad said. “She doesn’t have much energy these days, but she still loves to go wherever I go.”

I looked at the buggy and jokingly said, “If she gets that many treats and toys every time, I can see why she loves shopping with you.”

The man’s eyes filled with tears, and he said, “This might be our last shopping trip, and it’s definitely her last Christmas, so I want to make it special. She’s eaten up with cancer. Probably doesn’t have more than a few weeks left.”

I wasn’t ready for that, and I probably didn’t handle it well.

I scratched Lucy on her beautiful noggin for a few seconds, patted the man on the back and got the heck out of the store as quickly as possible so folks didn’t have to witness two grown men hugging and crying in the middle of a pet store and think a dadgum Hallmark movie was being filmed right here in East Texas.

As I tried to gather myself in my truck, I said a quick prayer for Lucy and her dad. I prayed for a great Christmas for Lucy, and that her suffering would be at a minimum, and I prayed her dad’s grief would be replaced by all of the great memories he and Lucy had shared together.

I thought about the look Lucy gave me during our short visit, and I remembered another beautiful dog I met a few years ago while getting our pups checked on at the local veterinarian’s office.

Her name was Lil’ Girl, an 11-year-old Lab who struggled to walk, but was dressed in her best bandana for her trip out in public and sat at her person’s feet observing what was going on around her.

It was a busy day at the vet’s office, and I took the time to get to know all of the dogs there.

Bailey was a 3-month-old Schnauzer who simply wanted to chew her rope toy and let someone scratch her belly. Substitute coffee for the rope toy, and I’d sign up for that life.

Bella was a tiny Maltese who wouldn’t leave her mama’s lap because she had suffered a seizure that morning and was still scared. If mama can’t fix it, it can’t be fixed.

Scout was a Beagle pup who had recently perfected his big dog howl and was making sure everyone knew it.

Cash was a 6-month-old mix breed sleeping on his dad, who said Cash had doubled his weight since his last visit. Scout’s big dog howl didn’t faze Cash, who — according to his dad — basically liked to sleep until he was hungry and then eat until he was sleepy.

Cash is probably my spirit animal.

But, the one I remember most was Lil’ Girl.

At first, I thought I saw sadness and maybe a flash of jealousy in her tired eyes as she looked at all of the youngsters. But, the more I looked at Lil’ Girl, I realized I was seeing a beautiful soul who was closer to the end than the beginning, was content to live out her remaining days by the side of the one who loved her most and was tolerant of everyone around her.

I’m sure she’s gone now, but Lil’ Girl reminded me a lot of my new friend Lucy, who wagged her tail instead of snapping at me when I bumped into her at the pet store.

I bet they’ll be great friends up in heaven, but I hope Lucy got to stick around long enough to open her presents and enjoy a few more treats Christmas morning.

And, there is no truth to the rumor I went back to the pet store later to do a little extra shopping for Sarge, Bentley, Freeloader and Murphy.

That stuff only happens in sappy Hallmark movies.