May 16, 2011 Goodbye To My Sweet Fluff

Fluffy at Brownell Woods in January, Thornton IL

The picture is Fluffy doing what she loved best...hiking. It didn't matter if it was in the woods, at the beach or around the block. She loved to go for a walk. Last night I lost my favorite hiking partner. She was almost 13 years old. I knew she had slowed down in the past year and I began to think the end was near. Luckily it came quickly and peacefully for my favorite dog. I first saw Fluffy at the St. John Animal Control back in the summer of 2001. When I took her home, the lady from Animal Control told me that she couldn't put her down because Fluffy was the sweetest dog she'd ever been around. She was right. Everyone who met Fluff, even for a minute, said what a sweet dog. She was my beautiful mess. She had a snaggle tooth, bad fur, skin conditions and a tail like Eeyore but she never caused us any trouble except when a thunderstorm was coming. She would get so scared she didn't know what to do with herself, so she walked from room to room drooling, looking at you with a face that said "please make it stop". But no matter what you did, she would be frantic until the storm passed. This led to many sleepless nights but I will think of her whenever a storm approaches. I will miss the way she cocked her head and lifted her ears as if she wanted to be sure she heard me correctly when I said, "Wanna go for a ride"? Then she would do her Happy Feet dance as she scrambled across the floor to get Glacier or Oslo to go for a ride. Unlike the other dogs, Fluff would take her time on our walks, she loved hiking as much as I do. It was like she was enjoying being out in nature, taking it all in. When she got tired, she would just drop right on the trail and rest. There were plenty of times we both laid down and rested in the woods or on the dunes...just relaxing somewhere special. When Chrissy called me Sunday afternoon, I told her Fluff would not last much longer. She was fading, then all of a sudden she would pop her head up, then lay back down. It was like she was fighting off death. She has always been the toughest dog we've owned. She just never showed it with bravado...she was tough on the inside and sweet as can be on the outside. She lasted until Chrissy got home. We both had laid by her side, comforting her and telling her it was time to go. She died in her sleep around midnight. The next morning we wrapped her in a blanket and put her in the car. I had tears in my eyes as I said goodbye to my sweet old girl and started my work truck. Fluff would have none of that...the song playing on the radio was "Backwards Down The Number Line" by Phish.

"Happy happy oh my friend

Blow out candles once again

Leave the presents all inside

Take my hand and let's take a ride"

"You decide what it contains

How long it goes

But this remains

The only rule is it begins

Happy happy oh my friend"

Once again, Fluff brought a smile to my face and she will for the rest of my life. Rest in peace my old friend.