The Furry Warren

I have an extra 20 minutes this morning. 
I have some extra room in the office. 
I have some extra room in the living room. 
I have a dog door that can remain shut. 
I have an extra bag of dog food and a few months of heartworm and flea and tick medication. 
I have a whole bunch of dog treats and dog toys. 
I have a hole in my heart that I did not expect to be so big. 

 Ruby is 13 years old. I still find it difficult to put her in the past tense. I love her. It’s not I loved her. I still love her. 

 Ruby, I’m sorry I had a baby in the middle of your last good years so that I didn’t have much time to play with you. 
 Ruby, I’m sorry I didn’t take you to Fort Funston more when you could actually run around and enjoy it. 
 Ruby, I’m sorry I didn’t believe that you really saw raccoons coming in our house and that you were trying to protect us all those years. 

 Ruby, thank you for always trying to protect us, even when you were deaf and could only bark when you finally saw new people in the house. 
 Ruby, thank you for leading me over all the big scary rocks when I didn’t know how to get across them at the Fort Funston beach. 
 Ruby, thank you for loving me and snuggling me and being there for me when I was getting divorced. 
 Ruby, thank you for always helping me be in a little bit better shape by going on walks with me almost every day, even when it was hard for you to walk up the stairs. 

 Ruby… I’m glad that you didn’t appear to suffer in your last days. Maybe you just suffered silently. You could still jump out of the car, even if we had to pick you up and put you in. I'm so glad I came out to pet you a little and put a blanket on you just before you passed away. 

 Ruby, I hope you know how much we love you. I hope you have all the lemon sticks and sausages you could hope for in doggy heaven. I hope there are endless people who want to snuggle you, scratch your scruff, tell you what a beautiful dog you are, and what a nice smile you have. You deserve it all and I will miss you forever. You were the best dog a girl could have ever asked for. 

 













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