If it hadn't been for Dylan.... (Dylan 5/9/2002 - 9/15/2015)

Dylan's Orvis Dog Book Photo.

Dylan wasn't an agility dog.  He was my first Sheltie. Purchased on a whim (yes, yes, I know one should not take puppy purchases lightly), I had no idea what I was getting myself into with him. And I guess ignorance was bliss. Shedding, barking, high energy, barking, super smart, barking, were things I'd learned about him after his five pound adorable eight week old puppy self had safely snuggled into my heart the first night I brought him home. 

If it weren't for Dylan.  I wouldn't be writing this blog. If it weren't for Dylan, I  never would have found Henry.

Dylan died suddenly of an undetected, undiagnosed Hemangiosarcoma on September 15, 2015.  I'd begun the first day of a three day jury trial with probably the most insufferable client I'd had the misfortune of representing. In court, cell phones were always turned off.  

When court finished that day, I turned on my phone, saw that I had messages and instead of listening to them (thinking they were the usual how was your day type of message), I called Jen back.  Tears greeted me, interspersed with words like "Dylan," "vet," "emergency," "bleeding," "not good."  Fearing the worst,  immediately I became unconcerned with speed limits, and I'm pretty sure that I broke all kinds of records getting to the veterinarian's office in my usual hour-long commute. 

My veterinarian's somber expression told me all I needed to know.  Dylan wouldn't likely make it to an emergency clinic.   He was that bad.  And, thus, a decision was thrust into our hands.  It's the hardest decision I ever have had to make.  

With Dylan's death, we were left with a grieving Buffy(who'd been diagnosed with nasal adenocarcinoma in June, 2015).  We were on borrowed time with her, and being such a dog-centric household, I found myself searching for a puppy.  Friends, our veterinarian, and veterinary oncologist were concerned that we'd one day come home to an empty house -- and we couldn't have that.  Plus Buffy, well, as despondent as she'd gotten, a puppy might be a good thing for her (it turned out to be the best thing ever, but that's another story). I'd reconciled my guilt of even thinking about a new puppy, because I learned that we never really replace the ones we so loved and lost.  Instead, they teach us that our hearts are far bigger than we ever imagined.  The perfect alignment of stars led us to find Henry.  

Shortly after Dylan died, I composed the following list entitled "19 Wonderful Things You Didn't Know About Dylan." You see, my dogs are my family.  And if you've lived long enough with dogs, then I know you will understand that they have personalities all their own.  I jokingly humanize a lot of my dogs' characteristics (hey, I know I'm NOT the only one who does this!), and writing this list was a catharsis of sorts.  I laughed, cried, processed, and grieved.  I hope when you read this, you see a fraction of the wonderful dog he was.  

19 Wonderful things (you probably didn't know) about Dylan:

1. Dylan was purchased in 2002 from a backyard breeder around Shrewsbury, PA. I didn't know what a backyard breeder was, but I'm thinking the smelly/dirty farm should've been my first clue. I got him when an ex had broken an elbow, was on painkillers and insisted at that time to get a puppy. I caved. He was filthy and when I saw him, I realized I couldn't leave him at that farm although I wasn't really sure I was ready for a puppy. He turned out to be one of the best things ever to happen to me. To my knowledge, his breeder is nowhere to be found...good riddance.

2. He was super smart. He could distinguish between his toys. You could tell him to get a ball, or Mr. Elephant (his stuffed elephant), or Wally or whatever other toy he had and he'd bring it to you. His favorite toy, however was the tennis ball. 

3. He loved snow. All you had to do was say the "S" word and he'd run to the door and beg to be let outside. He'd go lay in it, too. We often joked that his boy bits (those that remained after neutering) would freeze off. He loved when you threw snowballs at him...catching them in his mouth as they'd explode. Conversely, he also loved the beach. If you said the word "Beach" he also knew what that meant and got excited -- so much so that in the car, once we got there he'd perk up when he smelled the salt air.

Snow!

4. He could sing. Whenever the song "Roxanne" came on by the Police, he would sing...and I'm talking very throaty, guttural sounds. Perhaps he was channeling Sting or maybe Dylan secretly wanted to be a rock star. That was his song. I remember one time we were in the car with friends and the song came on the radio -- without warning Dylan just belted it out in a reckless abandon kind of way, much to our friends' surprise. I don't think we could stop laughing! Dylan also sang Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" and we were working on Men at Work's "Be Good Johnny."

5. Unlike his best friend and sister Buffy, Dylan would be the bow tie and pocket protector wearing wholesome kid. He'd be the type to pick a single flower for a pretty girl and he'd be bashful when asking a girl to a dance. 

6. He liked to think he was a navigator. No matter the car trip, he'd have to lay in a position near the armrest. He'd stay awake as he'd always have to be looking outside to make sure we'd get to where we were going. Those 14 hour car trips back to Missouri? He'd be awake for all of those hours! (Buffy would say "F it" and then fall asleep in the cushy back). Incidentally he hated windshield wipers so driving anywhere with him in the rain was ALWAYS an adventure. To this day, I can fully attest that those big bad evil windshield wipers never did prevail in their attack upon us. 

7. He didn't like to cuddle except on his own terms. When he did cuddle, it really was a special moment that you'd allow time to freeze. I once woke up to find him sleeping next to me with his head on my pillow. Sometimes he'd sleep atop my head on a pillow.

8. He was a "morning person"....the best and worst kind of alarm clock because he didn't distinguish between work days and weekends. There's nothing like being sound asleep on a Saturday morning...and his ritual would progress something like this...he'd make a noise, almost a moan. This noise would become progressively louder the longer you'd ignore him until it would become a full out bark. The bark was often accompanied by 2 paws striking the side of the bed. Believe me, this alarm did NOT have a snooze button.

9. He loved decks and staring out the window. See photos below. At the beach he'd lay on the deck and just smell the breeze, watching and observing. Put him near a window and he'd do the same thing. I like to think he was contemplative, or alternatively, trying to protect us from the evil squirrels in the backyard that were staging a coup. 

10. He thought he was a tennis coach. Seriously, he liked to watch tennis on television. Novak Dovic and Maria Sharpapova (he couldn't pronounce their names) were among his favorites. I kept waiting for his coaching checks to come in the mail, but alas, we think his BFF/agent "Gator a/k/a Mr. G" (a stuffed Gator with documented world travels -- he's been to Australia WITHOUT us!) absconded with them. He also thought he was our cycling coach and often was found near our trainers in the basement as we rode. In reality, he liked the breeze coming off of them and our cycling didn't impress him much as any time we tried to do anything athletic, he'd call us "flopping bags."

Gator boozing it up at the St. Augustine Distillery. 

11. He was an amazing soccer player. Ask him if he wanted to play soccer and he'd run to the door enthusiastically. I think this was because he knew that we were no match for him (although he never openly laughed at our lack of soccer ability). If you tried to weave and kick a ball around him, he'd deftly maneuver to steal it from you -- or in many instances, I'd trip and fall and he'd come away with the ball, anyway. Despite his arthritis, he played soccer practically until the day he died. I think David Beckham must've practiced his moves with a Sheltie under foot :)

12. Did I mention he was smart? If we took him to play ball at the school across the street (the athletic fields were set lower and behind the school so it was an unofficial dog park), he'd chase the tennis ball along with Buffy, then he'd stop short, all the while letting her continue to retrieve it. As she'd bring it back, he'd wait until she got to where he was, and then he'd steal it from her and bring it back the rest of the way. This did NOT make her happy. 

13. Watching Animal Planet was a "no no" because he'd bark at EVERY animal he saw on TV. Although he did like Animal Precinct and thought that Special Agents Lucas and Sandano were his BFFs. He'd often threaten to call them when he didn't get his way (meaning when he didn't get Italian food or other things to spoil him). We would explain to him that the SPCA police rescued dogs truly in need, not those spoiled dogs like him who thought he was entitled to everything (such bad parents we were!). Nevertheless, we weren't worried as he couldn't dial them anyway without opposable thumbs. 

14. When I started my law practice, he appointed himself my office manager. Although, he never really accomplished much in the way of office tasks, except for napping and lunch. His pal "Flat Dan" once got stuck in the scanner, which made for an HR department fiasco (was this a Workers' Compensation claim?) See photo below. Thankfully, we were able to resolve his claim without the need for litigation. I did, however, approve of his snow policy which was...when it snowed, the office closed and we played in the snow. 

The "scanner" incident.  No stuffed dinosaurs were hurt in the taking of this photograph. 

15. He had the most docile temperament. When they were little, Jen's nieces and nephews liked to put baseball caps upon his head (or try to dress him in a hoodie), and he just sat there and would look pathetic. On the occasion where he'd try to be Mr. Tough Guy and turn up his lip to snarl, nobody believed him because it came out comical. 

16. He was a happy boy! Getting a treat or something special or enjoying dinner would often have him make a run for the nearest piece of carpet -- whether it be the landing on the basement steps or the runner in the hallway and he'd rub his head and flail about as if whatever treat/dinner he'd had was the BEST THING EVER. It made me smile to watch him because he was ALWAYS happy. 

17. I couldn't take a bath without him laying on the bathroom floor next to the tub. If he heard me running the water, he'd come into the bathroom and immediately proclaim his entitlement to my usual tub-side cup of ice water (which I had anytime I took a bath)...then he'd lay there, until my bath was done. I think he believed that I wasn't capable of taking a bath by myself. 

18. He was a model and was (not very) modest about it. This is true as he made it into one of the Orvis Dog Books. It was a thumbnail photo but he was in there... Running along the beach with a tennis ball. :) We still have that catalogue but we refused to ask for his autograph because (1) he didn't need a bigger ego and (2) more practically speaking, we don't believe he could spell or write his name.

19. He and Buffy were inseparable. He loved her from the minute I brought her home from the SPCA. If we took one to the vet, we had to take both. She was once hospitalized for a liver biopsy and when we brought her home, he walked past Jen and I as if we were chopped liver. Except for veterinary procedures, they never spent a day apart. My solace right now is in the fact that I know they are together again.

Always together.

Dylan's 13th Birthday.