In all of our grieving, I have forgotten that there are others that are having a hard time with the loss of Arlie Bear. First, Arlie's sweet cousin Jessie. She is my brother's greyhound and every so often when they go on trips, we get to take care of her. Jessie has known Arlie since he was 8 weeks old. Heck, she helped raise him! She showed him how to go up the steps, corrected his behavior when he was a little too puppy rambunctious, chased each other in the yard (boy did he get frustrated when he couldn't catch her!), snuggled up to him, and loved him so much. In fact, Jessie was with us the week we said goodbye to Arlie. I should have known that something was up because she never left his side. She kept sniffing his chest and would forgo her bed (the only thing she would lay down on) to lay on the carpet next to him. She knew. When we came home from seeing "M", it was Jessie that ran up to us and buried her snout in our necks. She put her paw on us (just as Arlie would do), and let us cry. She comforted us. With that, we forgot that she is grieving as well. Now, when she comes to our house to stay while my brother and his family are on vacation, she doesn't eat, she walks around the house just looking for her cousin. Now, two months later she still looks for him.
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| I know you are thinking they are having a tiff. Nope, this is Arlie (about 4 month old here) pouncing on his big cousin and her playing back. We just captured this part on camera |
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| When Arlie got too rowdy, she corrected him lovingly but firmly |
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| Jessie is such a love and misses her Arlie so much |
Then there's Cooper, Arlie's best friend. We had him a couple of weeks ago when his family went to the beach. He and Arlie have been BFFs since both were 12 weeks old. They would wrestle so much that it got to the point when they were so exhausted they only lifted their front leg to paw the other on the face while laying down. They couldn't even stand anymore they were so exhausted from romping! At any rate, Cooper is a Wheaten Terrier. Therefore, his nose is quite strong and he has been known to sniff out food and other delectable treats (dirty diapers, garbage, underwear, etc..), thus getting him in trouble. Before they left, his parents kept telling us, "Do not leave food out on the counter...he will find it. If you can't find him, look for him! He might be getting into something!" They call Coop-ster their "needy wheaty". You get the hint, don't leave him alone. Well, when we had him I realized when I looked down there was no Cooper. "Uh oh, I left him alone and now he's eating the kid's favorite toys and they are going to scream and say that Cooper needs to go in time out and that 'what he did was unacceptable'". I bounded through the house and couldn't find him. Then I heard him stretching and I follow the sound to the living room. He had decided to not be with me in the kitchen and joined Arlie's ashes in the living room. He spent the rest of the week laying beside his best friend. He truly was Arlie's best friend to the end.
My point is that it's not only us grieving. Dogs grieve too.
I hope to update the blog this week with an announcement and picture of our newest family member. I will reveal the name once we get the official word.
Until then,
Love and paws,
Andrea and angel Arlie
