Memories of Beloved Pets Linger Long after Gone

'One-Eyed Blackie' 

by Lee Bryant and Susan J Meyerott

Tenderly Loved

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 

You become. It takes a long time. 

Generally, by the time you're Real, most of your hair has been loved off, 

and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. 

But these things don't matter at all, 

because once you are Real you can't be ugly, 

except to people who don't understand.” 

Margery Williams Bianco, 
The Velveteen Rabbit

Lee and Monsieur Le Noire

Monsieur Le Noire

Tar Fondu

Mr Black

Blackie

Mr Bee Lack

Mr Bee Lacky Lack

Mr Bee Lackey Boy

One-Eyed Blackie

One-Eyed Blackie wasn't always one-eyed. 

He began life as a magnificent creature~Monsieur Le Noire. 

But through the years, 

~just as the skin horse in the Velveteen Rabbit described~

his hair was loved off, and his eye dropped out,

and he got loose in the joints, thin and shabby.

But he was never ugly. 

No, he was tenderly loved 

and always seen as the magnificent creature that he was

who graced his human's life.

By Any other Name Otter Was a Prince of a Dog

Otter

Otter Boy

Otter B Hound Dog

Otter B Hounddoggie Boy 

Otter B Hounddoggie Boy oh Boy

Mr BobnBob

Maita Bob

Meeta

Maita

Mate

'Lovely Meeta, Meeta Dog'

Where do all of these nicknames come from for our long-time companions? 

Our furry friends are our intimate confidants and side-kicks

for our many life adventures. No matter how old we are

we whisper our stories and sing our songs to them.


Over time, our companions become the embodiment of

the songs in our heads and the tenderness in our hearts--

reminding us of our own silliness and vulnerabilities.

These ditties and nicknames become lodged in our heads to

linger long after our beloved pets are gone.

💓💓

"The nickname Maita/Meeta came from singing 

the Beatles tune Lovely Rita, meter (“meeta” w/accent) maid...

just a bizarre twist of that over time. 

The brain can be filled with silliness as u know..."

Lee Bryant

No No Bad Dog

Arrow

Sp-arrow

Wheel B-arrow

My Gringo Dingo

Dog

No No Bad Dog

Profiles of a Gringo-Dingo


Arrow was an interesting dog--a street dog from Guanajuato, Mexico.

When my 18 year old son brought Arrow home as a puppy

it was touch and go whether

I'd let him stay or send him to 'the pound'.


No No Bad Dog destroyed my son's foam mattress in a day;

ate my turquoise fimo necklace and pooped it out the next day;

and he took years to train the suspiciousness of

other dogs and humans out of him.


He was never an easy dog, but we came to love

our Gringo Dingo who believed it was

his dog-given right to bark at the FedEx man

when he heard his truck coming from a mile away.


No, not all of our beloved pets are well-behaved all of the time.

They can be ill-mannered and whiny; garbage-pickers and destroyer's of property.

But we love them all even if we do threaten to take them to the pound!

Bailey the Bunny

A Bundle of Love

Funny, Furry, Fluffy, Friendly

Loved

💓💓

"Until one has loved an animal

a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

Anatole France

Murphy the Coffee Table Dog

The Murf

The Good Boy

I always thought Murphy Greenstein was the perfect coffee table dog. 

His size and squared off shape, along with his mellow personality,

made me picture him with a glass tabletop on his back functioning

as a coffee table. Really, The Murf was the perfect height for petting,

and perfectly agreeable to stand perfectly still to get him some of that.

By all accounts, Murphy was simply a Good Boy.

💓💓

'I give thanks to all the furry ones 

that have made me so rich 

with a precious legacy of memories.'

Diane Hackney-Smith

Ginger and Velvet--The BFFs

Ginger the Talking Dog

Velveeta Cheese

Ging and Velvy

Ging and Velvy were two of the sweetest dogs ever

--even if Velvy was shy of short people.

Ginger and Velvet met later in life and became

fast friends the minute Ginger the Talking Dog 

let out a friendly greeting to Velvet who 

answered back in a similar agreeable voice.

It was clear these soon to be best friends 

spoke the same language, as did their human

'soon to be best friends'--Susan and Debi.

Velvet passed before Ginger and was buried

on the hillside in her backyard.

When it was Ginger's time to go at almost 18 years old,

Debi came to me and said, "It's time, Sue".

She made the call to Dr Miller for me to put Ginger to rest

while her family dug a grave for Ginger so she could be

laid next to her best friend, Velvet.

Years later when it was Arrow's time to go,

once again her family dug a grave for him so he could take

his place alongside all our other beloved pets.

I can think of nothing more tender and intimate 

between friends than to call the vet and to dig the grave

for a pet when you are too broken up to do it yourself.

Our beloved pets bind us to one another deeply 

as we share in their lives and their deaths.

💓💓

"There are doggies I'll remember all my life.

Some are dead, and some are living

In my life, I've loved them all."

With a nod to the Beatles Song 'In My Life"

Dancer Dances One Last Time

Dancer, the independent mini Aussie,

came to us one year to spend time with Arrow 

when her humans took trips. Arrow fell in love with 

Dancer immediately as Dancer didn't pay Arrow any mind.

I said Dancer was channeling my mother whose advice 

on men would always be, "Treat 'em mean, Susan; treat 'em mean."

Arrow the 'water-phobic' and sun-loving, Mexican street dog 

would follow Dancer into the creek and any other place she decided to go.

She had the cutest little wiggle, and she would dance and prance 

as she looked back over her shoulder when she was happy 

and when she would greet you. She was sassy and flirtatious

in a friendly, fun-loving way--just like my mother was--and Arrow adored her. 

💓💓

Dance, Dance, Dance Away

Soft moss a downy pillow makes,

And green grass makes a bed,

where Dancer lays her tired head.

Sweet dreams, dear Dancer~

Ado Adieu

Lay your head for the last good night,

Then dance, dance, dance away.

Credit: The 'Soft moss a downy pillow makes' line is from Elizabeth T Dillingham's 'A Faery Song'

💓💓💓💓

Tears are words 

The heart can't express

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.

                                                            

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