There are dates in your life that you will never forget. For some people it’s the day they graduated. The day they got their first job. The day they got a promotion. The day they got married. The day they became parents. The list goes on and on. But whatever the date is, it brings back not just the memory of that specific day, but also everything that happened thereafter.
June 9, 2000, was one of those special dates for me. It was a sunny Saturday and summer vacation was just around the corner. I woke up bright an early with excitement. I hurried everything that morning. My shower, my tooth brushing, my getting dressed and my breakfast, all took place in about 10 minutes. Tops. Finally, my family and I were out the door headed for a pet store located just about 10 minutes from my house at a place called Tower Plaza. As soon as I walked into the store, I smelled that funny smell that many homes with dogs have. It’s not a bad smell. It’s just… a smell. My mom walked with me to the glass windows and pointed out to me the dog she had seen the night before.
She had huge ears and huge paws in comparison to the rest of her body. She was tri-colored and had sad eyes. She had a little, heart-shaped nose. But funniest of all, there was a dog sleeping on top of her. She was just hanging out underneath. They let me play with her for some time in a small room located next to the cages. I immediately fell in love with her goofy stare and floppy ears. So, we took her home. The first big decision was her name. We finally decided to name her after my mom’s first dog in El Salvador. She became Coca Cola the beagle. Every time her name was asked, people would laugh at my answer.
The first night at home, we decided to follow what the book said. We got a small cardboard box, put it in the kitchen, and placed her in it when it was time to sleep. However, she began to cry, so I snuck her in my room and let her sleep with me that night. I’m almost certain that it was that night that our bond was formed.
Her life always, some how, and for some reason, revolved around mine. If I was taking a shower, she just had to be in the bathroom in there, waiting for me to get out. If I was watching tv, there she was, sitting next to me on the couch. If I was on my desk doing my homework, there she was on my bed next to me. She followed me around everywhere. When I was away at school, she would just sleep on my bed all day long. Her life would resume as soon as I walked in through that door. She waited for me every day at around 4:30pm to follow me around for the rest of the day.
I know people always say dogs give you unconditional love. Dogs are a man’s best friend. Dogs are very loyal. But in many ways, those are all understatements. Yes she loved me with out condition. Yes, many times, and in many ways, she was my best friend. Yes, she was very loyal. But she was so much more than quotes and sayings. In her I found a silent but understanding companion. Some how, she knew when I was happy. When I was leaving. When I was sad. The first time I cried in front of her, it’s as if she had been preparing all along for that date. She got up and placed her head under my hands so that I would pet her. She then licked my tears. It may sound a bit disgusting to some people, but believe it or not, it’s one of the most comforting feelings for a teenaged girl.
So let’s see. The things she loved: first and foremost, she loved getting her belly rubbed. She loved car rides and sticking her head out the window. She loved chicken. She loved water. She loved walks where she could sniff just about everything around her. She loved my bed. She loved barking at strangers. She loved running after critters. She once almost killed a chicken that belonged to my aunt. She loved sunbathing in the afternoons. She loved when she got attention. She loved going on road trips. She loved it when I came home. She loved many people. And she loved me. All she ever really wanted was to be with me.
Things I remember: I remember the day we took her to the beach and she swam like she had been doing it all her life. Her little paws never stopped flapping around the water. I remember hiding from her at night before going to sleep, and my entire family laughing because she would run around so worried looking for me and wanting to find me. I remember many times finding her on top of our dining room table, looking for something to eat. In fact, we found her there last week (lymph nodes enlarged and all, haha). I remember her wanting to pick fights with dogs twice her size. I remember her first road trip up to Tennessee and how she did not want to poop when we were all staring at her. I remember her always looking for soft spots to lie down on that were near me (sometimes, just paper lying on the floor would do). I remember her turning over her food plates at least once a week because she was hungry and didn’t want the dog food on her plate. I remember her going on her back and asking for a belly rub. I remember her sniffing out every single grocery bag we brought home, checking to see if we had either gotten her a toy or food. I remember her dreaming in her sleep and moving as if she were running. I always did wonder what she dreamt of. I remember the time she poked her eye causing her eyeball rolled back and we took her to the vet so worried. Hahaha. We could only see the sclera of her eye. They put some fluorescent dye in her eye (to check it) and turned off the lights and it looked like her eye was floating.
She’s made me laugh so much. She’s made me smile an infinite amount of times. She’s made me worry. She’s made me love her. And now, I have to make a decision that I really don’t want to make. I have tried to say goodbye to her but I just sit and remember and wish I could fix her instead. I know to some people it is hard to understand the love between a human and a dog, but rest assured, it’s one hell of a special kind of love. You see, the thing is, can make you feel pretty incredible inside on a daily basis. Not many humans can give that same amount of feeling (not to compare, but, alas, it's true). And she was nothing less than an amazing friend to me.
Yesterday I took her to the park. Her last time at the park. She enjoyed it so much, even if it was short. She sniffed just about everything she wanted to. Except for the dog poop, which I had to move her away from, haha. Apollo was being very sweet with her. It’s as if he knew it was his last time at the park with her. He loves her so much. He followed her around the entire park. In the car, she stuck her head out the window. And like always, the air makes them flap away from her face, which makes her look so very funny and goofy. But when we got home, she got worse. She barely slept at night. She moved around my entire room the entire night. She vomited twice. She fell down once, while trying to get up on her blanket. She was breathing so heavily and there was a whistle in her lungs. This is her third day without eating. I’ve tried so hard to make her eat. I’ve given her her favorite foods and placed them in her mouth to tatste. But she just isn’t hungry anymore. Her stare is sad. Instead of physically following me around, she follows me with her stare. Since I know it’s what she loves to do, whenever I leave a spot, I carry her with me, because I know that’s what she wants.
Today is going to be so hard. My arms become so weak thinking about it. But I don’t want her to spend another night like last night. Coquita, Linda, preciosa, I’m going to miss you so much. I love you and will never forget your goofy stare. I love your ears and your whiskers. I love that you still won’t let me grab your paws. I love everything about you. And I’ll miss everything about you. But I have to let you go. You have to rest now, mi princesa. June 9, 2000, was one of the best days of my life.
