Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Goodbye, Ginger

We went out to visit my husband's brother and family over the 4th of July.  I fell in love with their little cockapoos while we were there, and by the time we were heading home, we had two of our own.  The woman all of the dogs came from breeds them, and has been thinning out her breeding stock.  Our new dogs weren't tiny puppies, but they still found a place in our hearts.

Ginger, July 2012
Ginger quickly showed herself to be the more out-going of the two, and adopted Super Girl as her "person".  I was the next best thing.  Ginger could usually be found trailing behind one of us, or at our feet.  It took some getting used to - remembering to look before I started walking, to not shut the baby gate on her.  She loved to sit next to me at night, after the kids went to bed.  She also loved to run, trying her hardest to stretch her leash just a little more.


We went out of town this past weekend, and found out Sunday that she had run away from my brother the night before.  He and his friend tried to catch her, but she was a fast little thing.  She also didn't seem to like guys very much.  They looked for her, but couldn't find her.  When we got home, we looked some more, but she didn't come, even when Super Girl called.  I put out messages on Facebook, asking people on local groups if they'd seen her.


This morning, as I was dialing Animal Control, there was a knock at the door.  It was a young gal from Animal Control, there to let me know that my sweet little Ginger had been hit by a train Saturday night, and her body was down at the vet's office.  Fortunately, someone on one of those Facebook groups saw my post and tagged her in the comments.  My kind Mr. Man went down to the vet (there's only one in town) to make sure it was really Ginger.  He came back with a scrap of her harness, the pink one she's wearing in the picture above.  The tracks are about 20 feet behind our house, and there were trains running at the time she took off.  We don't think she was out there very long.  The vet was kind enough to not charge us to take care of her.  Poor Super Girl was really upset, and I've been feeling a wide range of things today - melancholy, disbelief, anger, sadness...  Funny enough, I'm not angry at my brother.  It's those darn guys that drive all those trains through here.  It's their fault.  Not really, but that's where my anger has been going, when it shows up.

I know she was just a dog, and we didn't have her long, but I still miss her.  It's been stressful here lately, at least for me, and I think everything I've been feeling in the past month is coming out with my grief.  I also feel badly for my little Pepper, Ginger's companion.  She hasn't eaten all day, and seems depressed.  I don't know how aware dogs are, but I do think she misses Ginger.  She definitely hasn't been the same since we got home.  I worry that we're going to lose her, too, to poor health.  Mr. Man regrets getting the dogs - he can't stand to see Super Girl upset.  Little Miss doesn't understand, having just turned 3.  She's talking it out, in her little 3 year old way.  Wonder Boy told Pepper he was sorry her friend died.  Me, I'm typing this post.  I had to say something, express something more than a Facebook status saying that I was sad because my dog died.  It's not the end of the world, but it hasn't been a normal day, either.

1 comment:

Noteable Scraps said...

Losing a beloved pet is the next worst thing to losing a family member. My prayers are with your family today. I do believe the other dog feels the loss as well. Dogs often seem depressed when something happens to their companion dog. Take care of yourselves.