I haven't been on Hive in a long time... There's been so much happening in my life. In the midst of all the change, I lost my sweet little Angel. It will be a month without her tomorrow, so I really felt like, since I'm revisiting Hive Blog today, I would like to commemorate her here. She was an amazing little dog.
I found Angel at a "shelter" out in the country in Texas. It was a very strange experience. The story is kind of funny actually... I found her on PetFinder and decided to go see her. The "shelter" ended up being a mobile home out in the middle of nowhere. There lived a rather big woman in a moomoo with her kids of varying ages and at least twenty to thirty dogs. The name of the shelter described it as a Small Dog and Rottweiler Rescue, which I thought was hilarious, and sure enough there was ONE Rottweiler in the mix.
I knocked on the door, unsure of if I was in the right place, and a little boy about ten years old opened a slot in the door and said, "Are ya here to see the dog?" It felt like I needed a secret pass phrase, but I didn't have one, so I said... "Yes?" He allowed me and my friend to enter. Upon entering my first sight was one child in one roller skate, skating in small circles as one can only do in one roller skate. Next, there were two obviously stoned teenagers slumped into the couch watching the TV on the other side of me. They looked right through me while about 8 little dogs ran along the back of the couch behind them barking wildly. Then I noticed the cages... Behind the couch, the wall was lined with empty cages. The dogs roamed free in the house, and I can only assume they slept in the cages at night. Lets hope they didn't only get to come out for company.
I met the woman in the moomoo who had yet another small child playing with a magnetic alphabet on the fridge. She was arranging letters in different combos and asking, "Is THIS a word?" "How about this?" The moomoo lady said, "She's been curious all day today, I don't know why."
Finally, I got to meet Angel Baby as she was called at the shelter. A terrible name. Sounds like a 1970s call girl, someone right out of The Deuce. But she wasn't that, no, she was a perfect little Chiweenie dog. She had a Corgi friend at her side, and if I could have, I would have taken him too. I was only about 22 years old though, and she was to be my first living responsibility. I loved her immediately.
I was told that she was two years old, spayed, and house trained. I found out shortly after that she was none of the above. She was only around six months to a year old. I didn't mind. And the rest is really history. I gave her the more proper name of Angelina, kept calling her Angel for short, and she spent the next 17 years by my side. We moved to Canada and lived there for ten years. But she spent her last months back in our homeland, (Southern US,) which is pretty neat I think. She got to ride business class on an airplane and did several road trips with us. She loved to roll in grass, and she was OBSESSED with food and blankets.
2 and a half years ago, she had a stroke. It's called Vestibular Disease in dogs, and it's just an old dog problem. She was never the same after that, but she soldiered on like it was nobody's business. She became mostly mute.. no more howling or barking. She would only let out little whines when the scent of food was in the air. The vestibular issues left her with balance problems and a head tilt that progressively got better over time. We thought we were going to lose her that night, but my goodness, was she ever a fighter! She recovered from the worst of it within weeks. I truly felt that every day after that was a bonus, and she made it almost three more years. She was a happy-go-lucky girl. She just didn't let it get to her.
Her last year and a half she had a very big brother by her side, DJ the Malinois. He was incredibly gentle and patient with her. In her almost-blindness, she would walk on his face sometimes, but he didn't mind much. She had a little bit of dementia and wandered incessantly. Here he laid on her leash so that she would chill for a minute. He always looked out for her.
She passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. She was nearly 18 years old, and her little battery just ran out. I was grateful not to have to take her to a cold vet's office for her last moments. She was my best friend, and I'm still adjusting to life without her. Rest in Peace, Little Angel. I was the luckiest to have you in my life!!
