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deedee blog: 07.29.08

a tribute to schpatzi

almost 16 years ago i decided to get paige a dog for our first christmas together. and not just any dog, but a dachshund. her favorite. not making a lot of money then, i spent weeks checking the pound everyday, because the breeders wanted $400 and i couldn't afford it. so christmas eve arrives and i have no puppy. in tears i go to the pet store and the nicest woman takes me by the hand and we get a collar, a ball, a bag of food, etc. one by one paige opens these gifts and thinks i am some kinky crazy woman until she opens the food - and then she burst into tears. "you got me a puppy dog!" then i burst into tears trying to explain my plight of not being able to find one. the next day we drove to santa rosa for a family holiday dinner. paige opens up the newspaper and there is an ad for a "used" dachshund for $200. she was five months old and had been given to an elderly couple by their grandchild and they could not take care of her. we promptly called her and set up a meeting in the wendy's parking lot in santa rosa. she told us she would be driving a red truck. we pulled into the parking lot and there was the truck but the woman must have gone inside. paige walked up to the truck and curled up in a little itty bitty tiny ball was the cutest thing I have ever seen. paige tapped on the glass and the little puppy jumped up, feet to the window, wagged her tail and peed on the seat. paige looked at me and said "she is mine!"

we took her home and i laid down some ground rules. "she will not sleep in the bed!" after two minutes of schpatzi crying, paige said "just tonight honey" and there schpatzi slept, at the foot of our bed, in her own down comforter, until logan kicked her out about 5 years ago. he didn't really kick her out, but she didn't want to sleep there anymore with him making all that noise.

schpatzi had an amazing life and it is truly incredible that she made it all 16 years. she once ate an entire dutch apple pie (you know the kind with the two inch crumb top!) and was sick for days. right after she stopped puking she tried to steal a pizza! she once disappeared. we had the entire neighborhood on page street looking under cars and all over golden gate park for her. i was standing on back porch calling her name and lo and behold i heard her yelp IN the fridge. no kidding. she had managed to get inside while i was unloading groceries, she had started to eat a package of raw meat but when the door shut the light went out and she freaked. she once ate marijuana (not ours i swear;-), and after we knew she was going to be okay, laughed for hours at her stumbling around stoned. she jumped on the kitchen table and ate a pound of chocolate, stick of butter and loaf of bread ALL IN ONE SHOT and ended up in the emergency room with an astounded vet saying he NEVER saw a dog throw up that much, EVER.

schaptzi was the little hoover that could. if there was food, she was going to get it. she would sit straight up, turn her head sideways, and inhale all the contents on your plate in a matter of seconds. we never had to vacuum after logan ate, she just cleaned the floor and i swear she got fat after he was born because he thought it was the best thing ever to feed her, "a bite for me and a bite for schpatzi", and so it went.

some of my favorite memories of her are of watching her run. she ran like a bunny with her ears flapping in the wind. she used to love going to the arboretum in golden gate park and she would run as fast as those little legs would let her, round and round in huge circles. but just as fast as she ran she would stop at blankets where people were eating and either try to steal their food or just sit there and beg. she used to love to play "catch" and (for those of you that remember our apartment in the haight) we would sit in the back room and throw a ball all the way down the length of the house and she would tear down to get it. and the cat would hide in a doorway and jump on her. so funny to watch those two play.

my absolute favorite schpatzi story is this: we placed a bowl of jolly rancher hard candies on the kitchen table. we would come home from work and we would find several wrappers all over the house. so we moved the bowl to the kitchen counter because schpatzi MUST have been getting on the table. this went on for at least a week and we were totally perplexed - how was schpatzi getting these. one day, paige is watering one of the house plants and in the back of the planter in a neat little pile is a stash of jolly ranchers. that doggie had hid a stash and was rationing a couple a day for at least a week AND she unwrapped them. without opposable thumbs.

schpatzi's death wasn't like chloe's. we had about a week to prepare. she was old, blind, a bit stiff and just plain ol' tired. towards the end she was suffering from some dementia and it came to be that we couldn't pick her up anymore. the vet gave us some sedative for her so in her final hour paige could hold her and pet her and say goodbye. our most amazing vet came to the house and schpatzi went to see chloe right here on our front porch in paige's lap. beautiful. peaceful.

as i fell asleep last night my last thought and vision was of chloe and schpatzi curled up together again, my yin and yang, sleeping peacefully into the night.



deedee blog: 06.28.08

a tribute to chloe

the day we got her, i opened the cage at the spca and there were 10 kittens in there....they all ran away except one - who jumped into my arms, cuddled up to my neck and purred the loudest purr i had ever heard. i knew she was mine. schpatzi loved her right away and from then on they were sisters who chased each other up and down the halls and curled up together and slept the days away. i swear schpatzi has always thought she was a cat. when paige got pregnant - every night chloe would curl up on her round belly and sleep. when logan was born she was completely attached to him, slept next to him at every moment - logan's protector. she slept in his bed during the day and his closet at night. she never tired of him holding her, rubbing her, hugging her, even when he was little and didn't know how hard he was hugging. she always stayed there - right there with him. chloe got diabetes right after logan was born and for awhile there i thought she was a goner, but she hadn't used up her nine lives yet! she fought hard and lived almost six years with a disease that kills most cats in half that time. she survived three moves with us - gave me my second scare (and used another life) when she "ran away" when we moved to american canyon...that was the longest two days of my life - she came home sick, tired, but again she battled on. she had a tough move to the east coast where the summers are hot and the winters are way cold. she would lay by the open doors during the day looking for a breeze in the hot summer and curl up in front of the wood stove all winter. during construction of the new upstairs bathroom in vermont, chloe decided to go exploring and found herself stuck in the walls. she spent the night there as we tried to figure out where she was. three holes in the ceilings and walls later, we pulled her out - again, another life used.

chloe went for her regular check up a couple of weeks ago and her bloodwork indicated that her kidneys were starting to fail. our most amazing vet told me to prepare. you can't prepare to lose one of your own. chloe and i went home and we changed her food - concentrated on her insulin. she was looking so much better. her coat got softer, her eyes looked better, but then she jumped on the couch with me yesterday and sneezed. she caught a cold. actually it turned out to be pneumonia. she couldn't fight it. her whole body shut down and even though our vet said she could make the pneumonia go away - she couldn't make her right again and it was time to say goodbye. there was enough time for us to all be there with her. and we held her and pet her and logan kissed her head and said "i love you". it was so hard and painful to say goodbye - but she looked me right in the eyes and i just knew she was ready and it was time.

i love you chloe and will miss you everyday. walking between my feet as i go to the bathroom in the morning begging me to "hurry up and feed me!" sitting on the couch meowing at me until i sat down and cuddled and pet you. waking up to you sleeping on my pillow purring in my ear. cuddling under the covers with me on really cold nights. rolling on your back so logan will rub your tummy. you were a good kitty. and as logan said, i hope your soul goes into a new kitty so you can live again.

logan has helped me create a photo tribute to chloe here.



deedee blog: 02.21.08

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