Gifts of Love: Sally and Molly

This is Sally.  She is a mix of Poodle and Shih-tzu and she is 3 years old. Every single day, sometimes twice a day, I see either Glenn or Rita driving very slow through the neighborhood with Sally in the front seat. I have been admiring this sweet gal for a while and I set out to meet her.     

 

Glenn* told me that the first time he took Sally out for a ride around the neighborhood he was thinking that if she ever got loose, she would know where she was, and perhaps, remember how to get back home. One time was all Sally needed. The next day she was following Glenn around the house wanting to go for another ride.  Now, every day - and sometimes twice a day if she can convince them - they go for a ride! 😊

Sally does not like busy roads or oncoming traffic, so they learned to stay within our neighborhood and go really slow. Most times, Sally sits in the front passenger's seat with her front paws on the middle console and her rear paws on the seat while looking straight ahead through the windshield. Oh, how it just tickles me so to see them pass by my house every day! 

Sally started out the first 8 weeks of her life in a home with 3 children. They adored her and Sally clearly has fond memories of them. To this day, she keeps an eye out for the children in our neighborhood, and when she sees them, she gets really excited and cries.  

Glenn told me that Miss Sally loves to dress up and insists on sleeping each night in her "nightshirt".  And boy is Sally smart!  As Glenn said "Like a parent that thinks their child is the smartest kid in the world. Every dog that's been a part of our family had its own personality and won a special place in our hearts. Sally is the most intelligent dog we've ever had. No one-word dog commands for her; she understands complete sentences. Many times, she has surprised us by reacting to our family conversations."  

It only took one delivery from "Barkbox" for Sally to need to investigate each and every box that comes into their house. She thoroughly sniffs each box and if she smells a treat, she knows that it's for her and she "dances around like a circus dog". But apparently, it's not the treats that she is after, that's just the way she knows that the box is for her. It's the toy that accompanies the treats that she is interested in. When Sally is not riding in the car, she loves to play!  

For a long time, I have watched Sally passing through my neighborhood and each and every time it brings me joy. I love that this simple act, riding in the car, makes her so happy. And, I love that Glenn and Rita want to make Sally happy by taking her for a ride! 

Originally, my blog was going to be all about Sally and what we do out of love for our pets. We have a hundred things we do for Missy, and I know from talking with my pet-owner friends that they do too. But Tuesday I witnessed the ultimate gift of love. 

 

This is Molly. She was 14.5 years old, and like Sally, she was a mix of Shih-tzu and Poodle. 

Tuesday morning I was at the vet's office picking up medicine for Missy. Pat, my neighbor and friend, came in extremely distraught. Molly had been sick and they had a very rough night with her. Through her tears Pat told Megan that she thought that it was time. I asked Pat if she would like me to stay.  She said yes and I stayed. 

Molly came to Pat and Joe when she was 8 weeks old. She lived a good life eating cookies (Milk Bones) watching TV with Joe during the day and watching game shows with Pat in the bedroom at night. Molly laid on the foot of the bed directly in front of the TV, like she was actually watching it, while Pat worked the puzzles. When it was time for bed, Molly joined them. She was a big fan of snuggling and would nuzzle right up to Joe every night. Her snoring never bothered them much, it just meant that she was sleeping well.  

Molly didn't like thunder or lightening but if she did have to go outside in the rain, she would sit down and look directly up with the rain coming down on her face.  She seemed to really like this experience and it made Joe and Pat laugh every time! 

Molly went on every trip with them and had been to Connecticut and Florida many, many times.  Her most recent trip was this past summer when Joe and Pat visited friends in Florida. She liked to ride in the car and Molly's comfort was a big factor in their choice of which vehicle to buy. They repeatedly bought the Honda CRV because the seats didn't slope down. Because the seats went straight across, Molly could lay comfortably for longer periods of time. 

Molly wasn't crazy about getting baths, but she loved Amanda, her groomer.  Another thing she wasn't crazy about were flies. Any time that Molly saw a fly in the house, she could not rest until Joe got out the swatter and took care of it. And just the opposite of Sally, Molly wasn't big on toys, but she loved treats!  She wasn't fed people food except for on Thanksgiving. Molly got turkey on Thanksgiving. What a treat!  

Tuesday afternoon, Pat and I went to the Spartanburg Humane Society to donate Molly's dog food and treats. Pat wanted these dogs to have the things that Molly loved. There are going to be some happy and well-fed pups, I know that for sure. 

Giving 873 belly rubs a day (I'm looking at you Missy) taking them for a ride in the car, buying them the treats and toys they like, these are just some of the ways we show our dogs how much we love them. But these are the easy ones. They are not all easy. 

Having to make that painful decision, knowing that it is time to say goodbye to your dog, this is heartbreaking and never easy. But as I witnessed Tuesday with Pat and Molly, it was a gift, it was a final gift. It was Molly being held and comforted and loved and thanked. This was Pat and Joe's final gift to Molly; being strong enough and loving her enough to know that it was time to say good-bye.  The final gift of love.

Thank you Glenn, Rita, Pat and Joe for letting me share Sally and Molly. 💓

* Please check out Glenn's website and sign up for his newsletter!  He is fabulously  entertaining!  www.glennstrange.com  

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