Steve, this is absolutely lovely. Sorry for the loss of Ruby. I know how hard that can be. I've always been a cat person and over the last decade we've had to say goodbye to four of our fur babies all of whom were well into their teen years. Always tough, but always filled with gratitude to have had so many years with them. I love how you interspersed your post with images of other clients and your own dogs.
My favorite dog song is 'Lentil' by Sia from her fourth album, 2008's 'Some People Have Real Problems'. It's my favorite solo song of hers from earlier in her career when I was regularly listening to her music (don't really enjoy her recent work).
Lentil was the name of a male dog, Sia's first pet, that she had fostered in Australia between the 1990s and the 2000s in Australia. She was unable to take him with her to England due to vaccine regulations, and she left him in the care of friends. Seeing that Lentil had bonded with their daughter upon Sia's coming back for him, she chose not to separate them, although she would continue to visit her beloved former pet.
Heartbreaking lyrics:
You were waiting for me, you saw me, adore me
As I wish the whole world would
You would never hurt me, desert me or work me
For all the things you thought you could
And you would lick the tears from my eyes when I cry
How I missed you when I was gone
Hurt me so to leave you, deceive you, I needed you
I believed in you
Now all I have is riches and pictures and stitches
Money could never buy what you give
And though my heart is achin' and breakin', I'm makin'
The most of what you send my way
Now I want just to hold you, unfold you, I told you
Thanks, Mark. I never knew that Sia song, so that's being added to the longer dog mix! Yeah, I almost included pics of my cats from my college/post-college years, but kept it dog-centric. My mom was allergic to cats growing up so we never had cats. But cats are the purr-fect college pet. I think I wrote about Sal, a neighbor cat that mostly lived with me and my college housemates, in an old post. Sal is short for salivate, so you can probably guess some of that story. This might be the catalyst for a future felinious foray!
Raoul must be around 15 now. Checked his page and he hasn't posted in 4 years, but you have to hope he's still doing music. Sweet article, and yes, it's true--our animal friends are more dependable than our human ones. My cat always knows when someone has the blues, and he's there immediately, like a big furry barnacle.
Mr. Bojangles. “He spoke through tears of fifteen years, how his dog and him travelled about. His dog up and died, he up and died. After twenty years he still grieves.”
Don’t get me started about dogs!! I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before, but here I go again! I adopté two Spanish GALGOS when we lived in France. Then managed to transport them back to the US. They did awesome! One is really traumatized, but cuddly all the same and my mom thinks she looks like Anderson Cooper. My other though, she makes my heart melt because I found out this weekend how much she trusts me this weekend. She got her tail caught in my automatic trunk door. She yanked out out and did some major damage. She didn’t make a peep. I didn’t know it had happened until I saw blood all over the back of the car. I didn’t take her to the vet over the weekend, but I should have. She trusted me to dress her wound and knew that I would take care of her. But sadly, she couldn’t leave it along and chewed right through to the bone. And just today, she had to have pet of her tail amputated! 😮💨😮💨😮💨 I feel awful. She’s still pretty dopey from the procedure. But man, watch those trunk doors and hug the shit out of yoru dogs!!
Haha, that your mom thinks one looks like Anderson Cooper. Does it have white hair and carry him/herself with a genteel disposition? You must get a lot of exercise with dogs like that. Aww, poop pup with the bloody tail. My dog is a drama king and would whine if he got a hangnail.
Ruby has now traveled across the Rainbow Bridge and she is at her happy place where she can run in the meadows with our dear beagle, Ringo, who passed several years ago.
I'm sure many others will come to me, but Edie Brickell's 'Ghost of a Dog' immediately comes to mind.
Thanks, Michael! Great recommendation. That's a pretty dark yet somehow uplifting song by Edie Brickell. I wasn't familiar with it. Yes, Ruby and Ringo and all our past pups are out chasing balls, eating grass and cat poop and rollicking in their forever home.
We currently have two 12 year old Red & White Irish Setters that we have had since they were pups. They may be old men now, but they still run and run, and run. Their happy place is running parallel to the waves along the Oregon coast and chasing the sea birds for as far as the eye can see.
Aww. Yeah, Ruby was the childhood dog for my client's two daughters, who were off at college. They came back for the final few days and got to be with her. That adds another layer of heart-tugging sadness. My giant pit-mix's best friend is a min-pin and I have some great photos of the two of them standing side by side. Thanks for reading, Kristin!
Thanks, Thea. Oy, walking Atticus was a challenge as he was deaf and strong so I had to pull on his leash pretty hard to get him away from all manner of stuff he shouldn't eat. Every pup has a very unique, charming personality!
Wonderful post Steve! Thank you. I will forward it to my daughter, who just lost her beloved friend, having been told 3 years ago he (Jake) had a congenital heart condition that would take him prematurely; the day she dreaded coming was last week.
One of my recent favorite canine croons comes from the wonderful Kathleen Edwards: “Who Rescued Who”
I loved this post. So many good doggoes, and good songs about good doggoes. The only one I'd throw onto the pile is "Dog Years" by Rush!
Also, very sorry on your loss. I'm glad you got a chance to say goodbye, however.
Steve, this is absolutely lovely. Sorry for the loss of Ruby. I know how hard that can be. I've always been a cat person and over the last decade we've had to say goodbye to four of our fur babies all of whom were well into their teen years. Always tough, but always filled with gratitude to have had so many years with them. I love how you interspersed your post with images of other clients and your own dogs.
My favorite dog song is 'Lentil' by Sia from her fourth album, 2008's 'Some People Have Real Problems'. It's my favorite solo song of hers from earlier in her career when I was regularly listening to her music (don't really enjoy her recent work).
Lentil was the name of a male dog, Sia's first pet, that she had fostered in Australia between the 1990s and the 2000s in Australia. She was unable to take him with her to England due to vaccine regulations, and she left him in the care of friends. Seeing that Lentil had bonded with their daughter upon Sia's coming back for him, she chose not to separate them, although she would continue to visit her beloved former pet.
Heartbreaking lyrics:
You were waiting for me, you saw me, adore me
As I wish the whole world would
You would never hurt me, desert me or work me
For all the things you thought you could
And you would lick the tears from my eyes when I cry
How I missed you when I was gone
Hurt me so to leave you, deceive you, I needed you
I believed in you
Now all I have is riches and pictures and stitches
Money could never buy what you give
And though my heart is achin' and breakin', I'm makin'
The most of what you send my way
Now I want just to hold you, unfold you, I told you
See, I am coming back for you
Yeah, I know we will be okay everyday, the sun
Shines a little brighter
And an absolutely stunning live performance - what an amazing singer: https://youtu.be/H0N0NXwtQX8?si=8B70VFa4g8AKDo9v
Thanks, Mark. I never knew that Sia song, so that's being added to the longer dog mix! Yeah, I almost included pics of my cats from my college/post-college years, but kept it dog-centric. My mom was allergic to cats growing up so we never had cats. But cats are the purr-fect college pet. I think I wrote about Sal, a neighbor cat that mostly lived with me and my college housemates, in an old post. Sal is short for salivate, so you can probably guess some of that story. This might be the catalyst for a future felinious foray!
Raoul must be around 15 now. Checked his page and he hasn't posted in 4 years, but you have to hope he's still doing music. Sweet article, and yes, it's true--our animal friends are more dependable than our human ones. My cat always knows when someone has the blues, and he's there immediately, like a big furry barnacle.
Mr. Bojangles. “He spoke through tears of fifteen years, how his dog and him travelled about. His dog up and died, he up and died. After twenty years he still grieves.”
This post is too cute for words. I loved reading about your furry friends along the way.
This was wonderful. Loved all the songs. Raoul! Thx for sharing your canine journey. 🥰🙏👏
Don’t get me started about dogs!! I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before, but here I go again! I adopté two Spanish GALGOS when we lived in France. Then managed to transport them back to the US. They did awesome! One is really traumatized, but cuddly all the same and my mom thinks she looks like Anderson Cooper. My other though, she makes my heart melt because I found out this weekend how much she trusts me this weekend. She got her tail caught in my automatic trunk door. She yanked out out and did some major damage. She didn’t make a peep. I didn’t know it had happened until I saw blood all over the back of the car. I didn’t take her to the vet over the weekend, but I should have. She trusted me to dress her wound and knew that I would take care of her. But sadly, she couldn’t leave it along and chewed right through to the bone. And just today, she had to have pet of her tail amputated! 😮💨😮💨😮💨 I feel awful. She’s still pretty dopey from the procedure. But man, watch those trunk doors and hug the shit out of yoru dogs!!
Haha, that your mom thinks one looks like Anderson Cooper. Does it have white hair and carry him/herself with a genteel disposition? You must get a lot of exercise with dogs like that. Aww, poop pup with the bloody tail. My dog is a drama king and would whine if he got a hangnail.
Great new songs, Rippin Dad!
Thanks for sharing about the dogs that were an important part of your life. The article made me think of the song "Jessie" by Paw.
"The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's." -- Mark Twain (1889)
Great quote. I feel the same.
Ruby has now traveled across the Rainbow Bridge and she is at her happy place where she can run in the meadows with our dear beagle, Ringo, who passed several years ago.
I'm sure many others will come to me, but Edie Brickell's 'Ghost of a Dog' immediately comes to mind.
Thanks, Michael! Great recommendation. That's a pretty dark yet somehow uplifting song by Edie Brickell. I wasn't familiar with it. Yes, Ruby and Ringo and all our past pups are out chasing balls, eating grass and cat poop and rollicking in their forever home.
We currently have two 12 year old Red & White Irish Setters that we have had since they were pups. They may be old men now, but they still run and run, and run. Their happy place is running parallel to the waves along the Oregon coast and chasing the sea birds for as far as the eye can see.
This is so beautiful!
In 2019 I had to put down my 17 year old miniature dachshund. That was so hard!! I’d had her longer than my kids and they had all grown up with her.
Aww. Yeah, Ruby was the childhood dog for my client's two daughters, who were off at college. They came back for the final few days and got to be with her. That adds another layer of heart-tugging sadness. My giant pit-mix's best friend is a min-pin and I have some great photos of the two of them standing side by side. Thanks for reading, Kristin!
Also, thanks for the Stephen Levine reminder-bought the book 25 years ago, it’s past time I actually put it into practice for a year, now that I’m 72!
These are sweet homages to your canine spirit guides. Atticus’s favorite pastime cracked me up.
Thanks, Thea. Oy, walking Atticus was a challenge as he was deaf and strong so I had to pull on his leash pretty hard to get him away from all manner of stuff he shouldn't eat. Every pup has a very unique, charming personality!
Wonderful post Steve! Thank you. I will forward it to my daughter, who just lost her beloved friend, having been told 3 years ago he (Jake) had a congenital heart condition that would take him prematurely; the day she dreaded coming was last week.
One of my recent favorite canine croons comes from the wonderful Kathleen Edwards: “Who Rescued Who”