She had this little freckle on the top right side of her nose. Her nose was dark brown, and the freckle was only slightly darker. You had to look really close to notice it. Once I noticed it, I thought it made sense; I had freckles …she had a freckle & we were family.
The hair on her nose was a bit stiff & rough when you rubbed it against the grain. I’m not quite sure that she ever truly enjoyed a nose rub, but she tolerated my need to do it.
Her eyes were the most beautiful color of orange I had ever seen. I always thought with her dark brown hair & orange eyes, the pink and orange collars looked best on her. Although teal and burgundy were great runners-up when we needed a change. She just had the perfect coloring, orange eyes and dark brown hair that was complimentary to the most dynamic color combinations.
Her eye lashes were the longest I had ever seen on a dog. I had never really examined any other as close or as often. I would watch her lay there and focus on her eye lashes as she looked around and blinked. It was as angelic as watching a little toddler girl. Knowing that there was nothing but purity and love in their hearts and it was all crowned by these pretty little eyelashes.
If you looked at her face long enough, you’d notice these long whiskers. Dark brown and wiry. And completely out of place. They were there, but I never really saw them. When looking at them in context, they took my sweet little girl into this old, hairy man. I would see one lying around the house on occasion & have to remind myself that she had them.
Just to the back of the very top of her head, she had a tiny little bump of bone. I use to rub it all of the time & call it her “tinking bean.” It was one of the most favorite little parts of her head next to those wonderful silky ears. I would always rub them on my cheeks, or in between my pointer and middle finger. I was so sad when she snapped her ear so hard when shaking water off, she injured it. To fix it they had to stitch it like a tufted pillow and I thought it would never be the same again, and it wasn’t but it got close. The inside of her ears always smelled like hot cocoa. I thought that also made sense, after all, she was dark chocolate.
Her head was so tiny in comparison to her neck. She would always slip her collar because of it, so eventually I stopped caring. And she was so well behaved, it was hardly ever an issue.
Her neck seemed to have the most hair on it, so incredibly thick. I always wondered how funny it would look if I shaved it. I have a feeling that in addition to the freckle, we shared the same loose skin problem on our neck as well, which again …made sense to me, being family and all.
The hair on her back was mostly straight, but you could see some slight waves, and when she was wet, it would curl up into little flips. I’m happy to report, it was often wet. We swam opportunistically. Drying her off was always a fun game of London bridge. She would love to rub up against your legs or furniture, completely soaked. If you were lucky enough to be prepared with a towel, she would go right between your legs. If she had 2 towel assistants, she would take turns; go through one set of legs and then back to the other and so on. Wiggling the whole time.
Her tail was truly the transmitter for what her heart was feeling at the moment. Wagging in delight, thumping in boredom, warning swipes. Through the unfortunate misjudgment of another, it was permanently damaged from a bad sprain. It had a permanent kink in it, but her transmitter seemed to work adequately, kink and all.
Her feet were always so rough (I guess when you don’t wear shoes they should be). And I always thought they were a little big on her, like she might still have some growing to do. They kept that puppy characteristic with her. She never did know that she wasn’t supposed to sit like a puppy anymore either, right on her bum instead of her haunches, so her big belly was always hanging out. I may have picked on her for it a time or two.
I always wished her belly was as soft as her ears because she like me to rub it often. It was a but rough and with the long hairs, it wasn’t the smoothest, but it made her happy so I always obliged. I loved wrapping my arms around her and making her my little spoon. Depending on her mood, she would tolerate me as long as she felt like it or as long as she thought I needed it.
She hated it when I touched her feet and I would get the baritone growl of protest when a nail trimming was about to happen. This event usually followed the increased tapping on the floor as she walked around. Her “tap shoes” would get louder and louder. She still had her dew claws, which was always a constant worry as to whether they were making her uncomfortable, and perhaps at times they did. Trimming her nails was usually accompanied by the visual treat bribe. And only once, did I accidentally get her quick and then prayed that never happen again.
But of all of these beautiful things, her heart was what I loved the most. She was soft & gentle in nature. Loved other animals, no matter the size, loved kids and people in general. She would let you put silly things on her for Halloween or any other holiday and would play along with the joke. Occasionally, she would return the favor, the joke was on you when she would lick you in the mouth during your mid-morning yawn. She was a warrior when she thought she had to be, and fortunately was never truly ever put into a real battle.
She was smart, intuitive, and funny. Lick your face when you least expected it. She would stay hidden until you found her when you got home (her thumping happy tail was a dead giveaway as to her whereabouts) and then once your eyes met, she would spring into her usual happy greeting dance, “hoppy pig.”
And I know that’s exactly what she’ll do when I see her again, in some version of a Godly-afterworld full of warmth, happiness and love. I find it hard to believe that there isn’t a chance in the universe that we will not be with that beautiful soul again someday.
pinkfumblepuppylove 