5 Things I Love About My Dog

You may have noticed my significant absence lately. I needed time to be with our dog. He left us peacefully early one recent Friday morning. It’s been two weeks actually, and, well, today, I’ve been missing him.

It used to be that being alone in the house wasn’t really being alone. Tex was always here to keep me company. Now, every time I walk through the door, I think about greeting him.

And then I couldn’t find any words to write about him. I think it was just too soon. I don’t want to remember how hard the last few months have been. Even though my most recent memories are the most difficult, Tex was the most amazing, loving, and intelligent dog. He taught me so much about love, persistence, and peace. Here are a few of the things that I love about Tex. (There are a million more, but this post would be too long.)

Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasy1. When we brought this little Portuguese Water Dog home, he got the nickname “Little Brother” (a la Mulan). He was Mockingbird’s little brother years before Armadillo the little sister came along.

Mockingbird, a precocious toddler, loved to tell people that she had a little brother.

At home.

In a crate.

*dramatic pause*

He’s a dog.

Yeah. We warned a couple of preschool teachers so we didn’t get any visits from CPS.

2. Tex loved water. It seems quite natural since Portuguese Water Dogs were bred to be all about the water. As a puppy, he played in his water bowl. On walks, especially in the hot Texas summers, he would pull the leash so he could run through people’s sprinklers. He loved to put his mouth on the water spray. I usually brought a wet dog home.

If we took a ride to my parents-in-law’s house, he’d go straight to the back yard to jump in the pool. Swimming, swimming, swimming. He would do it until he wore himself out. He thought it was his job to rescue anyone who was in the pool. We kept at least three dog water toys within reach.

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He LOVES snow and catching snowballs.

When he’d start to “rescue” one of us, we throw a toy. He would retrieve pool toys all day. On land, his game of fetch lasted for about five throws.

He loved snow, too. We don’t get the white stuff that often around here, but he would zoom through it and get little icy mats all over his fur.

Why is it he didn’t like baths so much? LOL. He knew if he came in from outside muddy that it was bath time. All I had to do was tell him, and he’d hop into the tub.

Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasy3. He loved to get presents. He had his own stocking at Christmas. My sister-in-law got him one shaped like a dog bone with a bell. He knew it was his.

Every holiday, he looked forward to putting his head in a bag for a new toy or special biscuits.

If the girls got presents, he expected one, too.

Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasy4. Tex was a lover. He wanted everyone (people and dogs alike) to like him. When we came home, he’d greet us at the door with a toy in his mouth. Then he’d lean into a leg for a hug.

He hugged visitors, too. He never played dominance games, except when we brought Demon Dog home. Then he turned her into his minion who did his bidding—like letting us know when it was dinner time.

5. I loved the way he learned new tricks quickly and permanently. Except for “Come.” He never listened to me when I called him. My husband, on the other hand, who never took a single training class with Tex, could get him to come when called every time. Grrr. I have so many training memories that they deserve a separate post.

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Even though I miss talking to him and rubbing his ear and just knowing that he was here, I know his memories live with us. Those happy and wonderful memories are what I’m holding onto now.

What favorite pet memories do you have?

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