My Forever Puppy Girl

My Forever Puppy Girl, a photo by Jodi K. on Flickr.

I can't believe that it's been two years since she's been gone and that it still hurts so much. Miss you, Cosette.

A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener...

Thoreau may have waxed poetic about the rain, but personally, I find it annoying and inconvenient. I have acclimated to the normally sunny Southern California weather and am having trouble dealing with our current deluge. I don't know how folks living in the Pacific Northwest do it. I'm not sure I'd survive.

It's true that the rain does make the grass greener. In fact, it produces grass in our back yard, which spends a good part of the year being brown and dusty.

This photo of our sweet Cosette was taken in November of 2006, before the rainy season. Notice the "yard" behind her (and Rusty and Little Guy!) Pretty desolate.

I took this photo yesterday during a brief break in the rain after convincing Little Guy to take a potty break. I imagine that once this rain is done, we'll have twice as much green back there as we do right now. Luckily, I cut it a few days ago as it was growing pretty well from some other recent rain. The dogs and I will be thrilled when the storms are gone though, just as Cosette always was. Damn, I miss her.

A Heart Full Of Love

We met her on New Year's Day in 1993 and she chose us as her new family. She was a playful, mischievous and smart as a whip. She grew and learned a lot in those first two years and then traveled by car with us on a move from the East Coast to the West Coast. We stopped along the way and held her up to look out over the Grand Canyon, which didn't really seem to impress her.

We all adjusted to life in L.A. quite quickly. While there were no windows in our apartment low enough for her to look out of, there were no thunderstorms either, which was a very good thing. Soon enough, we were able to get a yard for her, complete with her own door already in place. There was also a window right by the love seat that had a perfect view.

In a few years time, the family grew, not once but twice. The first time was a huge adjustment for someone who had been queen of the castle for seven years. It went a little more smoothly the second time and in the end, it all worked out just fine. The group of us had lots of good times outdoors in the back yard, on the hiking trails, at the beach, and up in the mountains. Parties and celebrations were often inclusive and were lots of fun. She loved to scavenge for crumbs.

Little Guy, Rusty, & Cosette resting after a hike to
Rainbow Falls near Mammoth, CA
July 2002

For the most part, she had a very healthy life. Five years ago, we had a big scare when she was diagnosed with cancer and had to have a major surgery. She surprised us by recovering quite well. Other illnesses along the way could never keep her down for long. She was too feisty.

We were thrilled when she made it to 17! What an accomplishment! We didn't take a single day for granted and hugged and loved her as much as we could. She loved Christmas and even though she wasn't feeling very well this last one, she joined us when we opened presents. Our last days with her were difficult and sad, but we got to spend a lot of time with her and really say goodbye. We were fortunate to have that very special time. It was quite beautiful in many ways.

Little Guy and Cosette
Christmas 2009

There are so many stories and so many photos (lots to still be scanned) that we have from Cosette's long 17 years of life. I wish I could share all of them. We are so lucky that we were able to love her for so long. We have so many great memories to help fill the holes left in our hearts.

Cosette, our forever Puppy Girl
11/13/1992-01/06/2010

Sometime soon I plan to write a proper tribute, but wanted to let those of you who might not know that our sweet Cosette is no longer with us. We were lucky to have her in our family for 17 years.

Happy Christmas

Little Guy and Cosette still don't really like each other, but now that they are old they don't bother quibbling so much. They would have never shared a blanket in the past. Makes me happy.

Rusty went nuts all day with a chewie that Santa Paws brought for him. He frantically searched for a place to hide it throughout the day. Actually, he's still looking, now in the back yard.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Cosette, I Love You Very Much!

Cosette, our American Eskimo Dog, was born 17 years ago today. It was also a Friday the 13th. She came to live with us on January 3, 1993. I was so reluctant to get a dog at the time, but E was really missing the two out of three he grew up with who were still living with his mom. For the holidays, I gave him a "Certicate" I printed up on the computer and presented to him, complete with the misspelling. We still joke about that to this day. It was good for (1) American Eskimo Puppy. Within a week and change, an 8-week old ball of fluff joined our family.

Cosette is responsible for my love of dogs being rekindled after it had been soured in high school. As is common with her breed, she has always highly intelligent and trainable, agile, and protective. She's definitely a "daddy's girl," positioning herself to be the alpha female of the household. We'll just let her keep thinking that, okay? And it might sort of be true.

We moved across the country with Cosette when she was not quite two years old. She reluctantly let Little Guy join the clan several years later (once she put him in his place) and became a mom to Rusty when we adopted him later. Cosette has survived mammary cancer nearly five years ago and came through a bought of Old Dog Vestibular Disease a year and a half ago.

There's no denying that Cosette is OLD. Among other things, she's deaf, has arthritis, sleeps a lot, is very skinny under her fur coat, and is not quite as sharp as she once was. If you go by the old standard 1 dog year=7 human years, she'd be the equivalent of 119 years old! However, veterinary research has shown that the correlation can be related to the size of the dog. Going by the standards I've found, she is more like a 92-97 year old human. Okay, so that's still pretty geriatric!

I have no idea how much longer she'll live, but I'm not going to dwell on that. I appreciate every day we have with her and let her know that the best I can. Tonight, she and her brothers will have cake and ice cream and if they tolerate it, wear party hats to celebrate a long, beautiful life!

Tolerance

Cosette and Little Guy

This is a crappy cell phone photo, but I captured the rare moment while still in bed yesterday morning. If I'd gotten up to get the real camera, they would have moved in anticipation of something to eat.

Cosette and Little Guy have merely tolerated each other for the eight-plus years they have lived together. Cosette had been an only dog for about seven-and-a-half years and it was a big adjustment. Little Guy came into our home thinking he'd suddenly take over as alpha dog. This did not go over well with the true leader and he was soon put in his place. When Rusty became part of the family a year or so later he bonded immediately with both dogs. He and Little Guy became playmates and Rusty took on the role of the puppy Cosette never bore. Little Guy and Cosette haven't fought since the very beginning, but they simple coexist.

I think that's why I was a little surprised to see them lying so close together, which is something they just don't do. Cosette kept getting bopped in the face when Guy would wag his tail, but she'd simply move her head position and that was it. At first I thought it was a really sweet moment and perhaps it was. In reality though, I think it was more likely that nearly seventeen-year old Cosette and almost thirteen-year old Little Guy, who is still recovering very slowly from his knee surgery, have difficulty moving and can't be bothered to get up for such a trivial matter.

Dogs Love Popcorn