Our family pet, Sir Doodle The Poodle, died earlier today. Doodle was named Doodle because he was a poodle (mixed with who knows what) that had a tail that was never cut off. His tail curled around very cutely and "doodled" all the time, so of course we named him Doodle.
I remember the first day we got Doodle. My mom's friend, Barbara, told us she saw Doodle at the local pet adoption center, and that we should go have a look. And that's exactly what we did. That Fall 2001 afternoon we went by the shelter and looked at this beautiful poodle mix pup. He was so shy because there were so many large dogs there, and he probably was "harassed" by them.
They wouldn't let us have him that day due to his not being finalized in the system (whatever that means). They told us we could adopt him early next morning if he was still available. Of course, my mother went and got him first thing in the morning. I remember that day because that's when I was struggling with the ordeals of 7th grade and didn't feel well, so I "checked out" of Glenwood for the day. I didn't get to go home, but I went to my dad's office to lay down. And there was Doodle to meet me.
He was extremely shy for the first few days. I don't know if it was because he played with the big dogs in the cages, or if he just took a while to warm up to a new family. It wasn't long before Doodle had warmed up to us all. He quickly became my mother's dog, because he always followed her. And by that, I mean he followed her everywhere. This dog had some strange habits. Doodle insisted on being picked up and demanded to sit in my mother's lap while she "shook the dew of the lily."
Some other strange habits were that he never liked his feet to be touched. He barked every time I wanted to get Shiloh (our other dog) to take her to bed with me. Did he think I was going to let Shiloh stay with him just because he disapproved of me taking her? Haha. He wasn't much of an active dog either. He always sat in my mom's lap everyday and all day. Definitely a "Mama's boy."
Anyway, his death was a shock to me. I knew he had heart worms, but he didn't show signs of being sick or anything. When our air conditioning went out, the dogs were showing signs of being hot and slowed down with their activity, and that was perfectly normal. But yesterday, Doodle really slowed down even though the air has been back on for a week. He didn't move much, and was really hot and sweaty.
I gave him a bath thinking that would help him feel better, and get rid of some of the fleas. The fleas have been absolutely awful this year. After his bath, he continued to be hot and sweaty, and his heart was really racing. But then after a few hours, he was almost back to normal. I thought he was going to be totally fine. So it came as quite a shock to me when my mother called me to tell me that Doodle had just died.
Haha I'm tearing up as I type this now, but I'm glad he didn't suffer that much. He didn't feel good for a little over 24 hours, and then he was gone. I was quite glad to find that he died in my mother's lap, where he belonged. A few minutes before he died, my mother left the den and went into the computer room, and he got down and followed her, and begged to be picked up. And then it was only a few minutes and then he was gone...
But I truly loved Doodle and will miss him. Moreover, I'm still glad I have Shiloh. I really thought Shiloh would have gone first, since she is the oldest. (13 at the time of writing this.) But she doesn't have heart worms and is still very active. Of course I won't be able to hold it together when something happens to her.
