MAn'S beST fRiENd oR JUst dEViN's

Not a lot of people knew I had a dog (other than close friends & family and our neighbors). I feel bad because I never really referred to her as my dog or "OuR" dog even it was just mostly "DEVIN"S DOG". Well the "dOg'S" name was Maddie. Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a dog person. I never grew up with any animals let a lone a dog and they just never appealed to me. For one they always made me kind of nervous (still do depending on the size) and for two they stink, shed and slobber everywhere. When I started dating Devin and I knew he had a dog I was ok but I didn't know that this dog "lived in the house" "slept with him" and everything. I thought that was so gross. I guess I didn't realize what a "DoG lOVEr" Devin was. One thing about Maddie was she did not like me at ALL when Dev and I first started dating. I think she knew I was the competition and as far as she was concerned I was in her territory. She especially didn't like me when we got married because she had to move outside and was NEVER to come in the house and that's how it always was. Another thing was since she was "Devin's dog" he had to do everything; walk her, feed and water her, play with her, everything. After all she wasn't "my dog". When we lived in the townhouse our friends Joe and Michelle had a boxer named Sadie and Maddie and her loved to play together. Then they got another Boxer named Duke and I was beginning to think I was the only one that didn't like dogs. I made Devin promise that when we got married he would get rid of her. After a year that didn't happen we were moving to "our house" and I said she had to go then!

Devin made the excuse since we had a yard now far better reason to keep her. I thought otherwise. Also all of our neighbors had atleast two dogs or more so than I felt even worse about it and kind of outnumbered as far as excuses went! Everyone around me had a dog, so who was going to listen to me complain or understand how I felt about it. How were we supposed to go in the back yard with her out there? Easton is allergic to animals especially ones that shed. Sometimes when I was mad at Devin, I would tell him I was just going to take care of it myself and was going to load her up in the car and drop her off somewhere. Well I may not be a dog lover but I DO have a heart, so needless to say I could never bring myself to do that. I finally got to the point where I realized she was now just a part of the family. I asked Devin if he could atleast build her a dOg rUn or something. So in May that was one of his projects and he built her a dOg rUn and on the other side a garden (pictures later)!


Devin loved Maddie he would walk her and go out and play fEtCh with her but one of his favorite things to do with her was take her up in the mOuNTaiNs and hIkE! Last year she hiked Timp with Devin and did a great job!

She really was a great dog. She listened and minded. She was quiet when she needed to be. I also felt very safe knowing she was in the back yard. She was very protective. When I quit my job last year to stay home Devin asked me if I would help out with her as far as feeding and giving her water. I thought if that was all I had to do I would. I think she got to the point where she knew to not lick or come over to me because I would always tell her "NO". I did grow to love her though (as long as she wasn't in my house) and I think her and I had an understanding.

Easton loved her and even though he was allergic to her still would want to go out and play with her and throw her the ball! Then Gracie came along and she loved her as soon as she could make sense of it all. You would ask her "where's the doggy" and she would point, scoot or crawl over to the window to look for her. When Maddie would come up to the window Gracie would pound on it and get all excited. She soon knew what the doggy said and would make the sound if you asked her! She was never afraid and Maddie loved Gracie just as much. She would always want to come up to her and lick her.

I was always so concerned at first but Maddie was so patient and gentle. The only harm she did was lick too much but Gracie didn't mind, she would kind of just wipe it off with the back of her hand and smile. The beginning of Summer came and we noticed something was wrong with her eyes, after awhile we realized she was going blind. Then later we noticed she couldn't hear, you would go back there and she would have no idea. The last month when you would let her out she would always run into everything and have no idea where you were. So she relied on her sense of smell for almost everything. It got really sad because her eyes and everything got worse and worse. Devin knew the time was coming to have to put her down, I think he was really dreading it though.

He had gotten Maddie right after his divorce and when he was lonely. She became his buddy and did everything together until I came along! So last Wednesday Devin came home early from work to take her to do what needed to be done. He explained to Easton what was going to happen. Easton did better than I thought. I was actually having a hard time, harder than I thought. I was sad, mostly for Devin but a little for her as well. I know this is what needed to happen but I never had experienced something like that before. I balled through Marley and Me so it came as no surprise when we were going through similar circumstances and I was having a hard time and I didn't even like her to begin with, go figure! It was mostly because of what she meant to Devin and what she represented for us. We got some nice family pictures with her before she left. I could tell Devin was trying to act like it was no big deal but I saw through his actions and his eyes later on what he was going through on the inside. I knew what she meant to him and what she represented for him as well. She was a really good dog and will be missed. Even though I am still not tHaT much of a dog lover, Maddie did bring me closer and she was a great first dog for me and a interesting experience, she will always have a special place in our family's heart. GOOdbyE MAddIE!