Obituary: Bebe (2008-2022)

Bebe joined our family via Jenn when she lived in Texas. Bebe was maybe two years old, had already had two litters of puppies, was underfed, skinny and skittish. Jenn found her at a shelter, took one look and knew this was the dog for her.  Bebe took one look at Jenn and knew this was the love of her life. They were a perfect match.

A Pitbull mix. Dispel all the negative thoughts you might have about Pitbulls. Bebe was the antithesis of every one of those negative thoughts. She was gentle and happy and sensitive, playful and as cunning as a coyote. Bebe was good at the long con: look sad, turn your head away from the treat being offered and !!! More treats would appear! But a harsh word would make her put her tail between her legs and creep away, afraid she let you down. 

Jenn and Bebe shared many homes, careers, friends, backyards, glasses of champagne and treats. Bebe was up for whatever was next. She was a protector of kittens, small puppies and very young children.  She loved a party, she was the perfect hostess. If someone came knocking at the door, Bebe was quicker than a doorbell to alert you that someone had arrived. She loved walks, romps and most of all, just sitting on the couch, cuddling. Bebe was the Queen of  Cuddles. 

Take Bebe to the beach and she was ecstatic! So much room to run, so many smells, so much love in the air. At this moment, I am sure she is on a beach with her dog pals, digging holes in the sand and basking in the sun. Bebe knew how to make a day at the beach the best adventure ever, rain or shine.

There are so many who loved her, so many who will miss her and so many who have great stories to tell about her. Bebe made people happy, that was her greatest gift. She was ruthlessly charming: it was impossible to know her without having a crush on her. She knew how to get into your heart and she knew how to stay there. 

We all miss you, Bebe. Carry on, my friend.

Old, older, close to oldest?

 Here's an example of false reality: you're watching a movie, an older movie, and you think: "Wow, this is a good film but it's been a while since I originally watched it.  Maybe 20 - 25 years?"  And you look up the year the movie was made and it was  36 Fucking Years Ago!  25 years is bad enough but 36?  That's half of my lifetime! That's ridiculous and terribly depressing and shocking. 

There is nothing to say about this other than it happens more and more. I am always prepared for an older movie with older stars, like Audrey Hepburn or Burt Lancaster or Cary Grant to be old.  I am never shocked when I watch movies with actors like that and see that they were made 50 or 60 years ago, in the 1960's, for example. For some reason, that seems appropriate. But a movie with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman?  Tom Cruise isn't dead and it was still made 36 years ago.  He should be dead by now.  But wait, he is younger than me by 12 years so I give him that benefit.  And Paul Newman has been dead for 14 years but for some reason I think of him as just a couple of years older than myself.  But NO!  He was a contemporary of my Mother, who was born in 1920.  Newman was born in 1925!  That fact alone makes me sadly crazy.

OK, I know, I know....I am on the cusp of being oldest. But it's a hard reality to accept, especially when you're watching a film that seems part of your past and you realize it's part of the way-way-back past. When you were a kid. Hardly a grownup, even though you already had a ten year old daughter.

YIKES!  The harsh reality never stops.

Back to the movie. I hope Paul Newman gets younger and Cruise gets older.  It's fiction after all.

Going to the Dogs, Part 4

 The second shift of walking SPCA dogs was last Wednesday, a brisk morning of about 30 degrees. Leaving my tiny, warm cottage at 6:30 seems ridiculous, of course, until I get to the site and start visiting the dogs in their prison cells.  I could be Jack the Ripper and they wouldn't care, I'm a body with a leash and with a pocketful of snacks!  I'm going to let them out into the cold morning air to pee and poop and run around and pretend to be free for a few minutes. Needless to say, these dogs are excited to see me.

There must be a better way to get these pups harnessed up than my method which is leaning over, chasing them around, bribing them with pieces of turkey hot dogs in my attempt to get them to calm down so I can secure the harness. By the end of my two hour shift my lower back was screaming at me from the leaning over the dogs. Walking them is one thing: some are over 80 pounds and are very strong but I am fine with that. It's the harnessing that's killing me.

But I will return in two days to try again. The temp for Wednesday morning will be below freezing again but the dogs keep me moving so it doesn't seem so bad. 

There are dogs who have been at the shelter for a couple of months and there are some I have enjoyed who have been adopted in the few weeks I have been there. It's always a joyful moment when I look at the board of about 30 dogs and don't see one that was there the week before. The beautiful three-legged husky, Selene, found her home two weeks ago and I truly hope it works out for her and her new guardians.  

Cross your fingers that my back holds out. I am buying stock in an ibuprofen manufacturer pretty soon.  

Woof.