What can you say about a faithful companion who gave you unconditional love? How do pay tribute to a fuzzy, fourteen pound bundle of adoring energy? This is Doofus, and he was my friend
Doofus came into our world thirteen years ago. My sons had gone off to college and my daughters were in the third and fifth grades. I had been a single mom for 6 years and the girls wanted a dog. I had dogs before...a wonderful golden retriever that my ex got custody of and before that a great dane who died during emergency surgery. I was so sad then because I never got to say good bye. I remember my son cried and said he would never get another dog because it hurt too much when they died. I'm happy to report that Manny the mutt has been a part of their family for the past 10 years. I'm glad he was able to get past his grief.
Doofus found us when he was 4 weeks old. He was so tiny--looked like a minature panda bear. He was no trouble and slept in the bed with me from day one. Best little dog in the world. Always with a smile--I loved that underbite! He could play frisbee for hours and never give up. He loved to give high fives. On weekends he would patiently sit next to me while I read the NY Times and I sipped my latte...just waiting to lick the last remaining foam from the cup. He played this game called "hide the bunny" that my daughters made up one day. He was waiting at the door when the girls got home from school so they never had to come home to an empty house while I was at work.
And when the girls left for college, I had Doofus to keep me company. He moved with me from Cincinnati to Chicago and then Hoboken and took it all in stride. Now when I came home from work, he would meet me at the door, tail wagging and jumping up and down for his walk. We were truly best friends.
About 6 weeks ago he was fine...running around, playing and then he got sick. They found a tumor in his belly and we put him on antibiotics and hoped for the best. But he didn't get better. He had a few good days when we would walk to the park and sit on our favorite bench and watch the world go by. He listened to all my troubles...jumped when I yelled at the TV and always slept next to me in bed...crawling under the covers when it was really cold. He went from acting and looking like a puppy to an old man almost overnight. I hoped and hoped for the best and started preparing myself. Yesterday the vet called with his latest test results. The infection was still there and he had a very poor prognosis. And so I carried him to the vet last night and held him for one last time in my arms. OK, I am now crying again on my keyboard but I want to remember the good times and I know in a a little bit of time I will cry less. I will adopt another shelter dog--another shitzapoo I hope, but today is hard. Thanks for listening to me talk about my friend, Doofus