Warning: the post is super duper long so be prepared.
Well, I've been dreading this post ever since I started a blog.
I'm sure I will shed many a tear writing this...but thankfully you can't see me through the Internet.
Our family has been changed these past couple of weeks and it's all because of one little dog and his unexpected death.
It's hard to know where to start exactly.
I suppose I should just start at the very beginning...
Steven and I moved to Bradenton, FL in the summer of 2005 anxiously awaiting his first year of med school beginning that September. I began teaching at a small private school (a.k.a. hell on earth) in August and things quickly began to get very busy for our new married life. Over the summer I had been begging Steven for a puppy. A puppy sounded so cute and cuddly and not to mention would be a great companion during Steven's early years of med school...plus it would prepare us for children in the future. Oh yes, puppies do that you see. But at least children wear a diaper...
I slowly convinced him over a few weeks to take the puppy plunge and we scoured the Internet in search for the perfect inside dog for us--very little shedding, under 30 pounds, and of course good with people/children. We settled on a Patterdale Terrier. I really can't remember the reason right now. I know that Patterdale's covered all the check marks we were looking for and luckily there was a Patterdale breeder in Ruskin (not too far from us) that I suppose seemed the easiest solution. Steven called the breeder and sure enough one of their dogs had just had puppies in July and there was one left. She said we could have him for a decent price if we just wanted him as a family dog, and not to show. We immediately said yes--we definitely weren't planning to be a part of "Best in Show" or anything. We would get him in 6 weeks, she said, after he passed the 8 week mark of a newborn puppy.
I remember the 6 weeks going by extremely slow. I'm sure it was the fact that Steven was beginning the long laborious process of med school and my job was a nightmare in itself. I cried every single Sunday night that fall thinking about teaching the next day. But that's another story in itself...
So the day came when we were able to get our puppy for the first time. We were thrilled! We drove to Ruskin and settled on the name "Major" before we even got there. Steven chose the name because there was this bird dog that Steven had been hunting with named Major and he thought that dog had hung the moon. So Major it was.
So we picked up our little Major one sunny afternoon in Florida and we both remember the owner telling us as we scooped him into our arms, "Oh, I named this one Verbal because he was the first one to speak and he hasn't stopped since." We should have taken this as full warning ;) but didn't think much about it.
The entire ride home we remember Major yelping as I held his shaking body and clawing both my arms and hands with his long nails. I think we both wondered to ourselves what we had gotten ourselves into.
However, once we brought Major home to our little house we quickly fell in love.
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Well, let me rephrase that. We did fall in love but that didn't mean that we both weren't cussing him out in the middle of the night (especially Steven). He was a stinker, this dog. The first couple of weeks we had him home brought on sleepless nights accompanied by Major's loud yelps coming from the guest room and routinely pooping in his kennel around two in the morning and smearing the poo EVERYWHERE. Steven would have to wake up during the night and clean out his kennel in the backyard, all exhausted from his first, stressful, year of med school. I'm not really sure why I never cleaned out his poop. I guess it has come back to serve him well because I've had to get up with the kids for the past 3.5 years...so I suppose you could say we're even. If you count three years to two weeks even...;) The nights got so bad that Steven even considered giving the dog back. I think it was me that convinced him otherwise.
But despite that first hard month Steven and I loved him all the same.
He brought joy into our first stressful year in Bradenton.
We did eventually put Major and his kennel in our bedroom one night to see if that would calm him down and from then on that rascal never cried or smeared poop in the night. He just wanted us close by it seemed.
We soon learned that Major had severe separation anxiety when we were away from him. Like I said, he was a little stinker.
He was also a very difficult puppy to potty train and we think it was just his stubborn personality.
A year later we would still catch him going behind our couch to poop and our carpet in the den was eventually replaced by tile because of all the disgusting urination marks. Oh the memories...
Slowly but surely Major became part of our family and began to grow into a beautiful, loving dog.
His favorite past time was chasing after a tennis ball in the little field in our backyard. His best friend was our neighbor's weimaraner, Nala. Every afternoon after I came home from teaching or Steven came home from school this was the first thing we did with him.
He LOVED going running with me or Steven. He was there every step of the way when Steven trained for his first half marathon. I think Major ran ten full miles one day and of course didn't miss a beat.
Steven says Major helped him get through med school. I'm sure it because Maje was such a fun companion when he needed a break from studying. Plus, dogs just have the power to de-stress you. Don't get me wrong though, they can also stress the living daylights out of you.:) Ahem, me.
Steven worked so hard to train Major to sit, lay, speak, stand, roll over, and even stay in one place. He could put one of Major's dog treats right in front of him on the ground and Major wouldn't touch it until he said "eat." Of course, we didn't practice these tricks with him in the last three or four years but I would bet he would remember everything.
I think it was safe to say that his favorite place to be in all the world was at the lake. He LOVED any type of water (except bathing) and would swim for hours and hours retrieving tennis balls thrown as far as possible. He was an extremely fast swimmer.
One year, we threw a birthday party at the lake for Major and his "cousin," Aslan. Looking back on the pictures I can't believe how young our sweet nephews look! I think Major was turning two and Aslan turning one...I can't remember.
He loved Rowen and Hudson so much and always wanted to be everywhere they were.
Here is Steven teaching Major how to do one of his favorite pastimes...
Doggy wakeboarding.
And here's Major braving the tube with Uncle Ryan. :)
Looking back on our time in Bradenton, we think of so many sweet memories with our dog. He was with us every step of the way.
We took him on all our trips home to see family...
And even included him on Christmas cards...:)
We eventually moved to Birmingham in 2008 and prepared ourselves for having our first child born the following year. Nothing can really prepare you for that though.
We lived in a tiny, cheap, townhouse which always made the grandparents (ahem, grandmother's) nervous when they came to visit. Steven left me for two months during the fall to do away rotations at various cities in the south. I cannot tell you how thankful I was to have Major with me. He was my protector. He slept with me every night and kept me company when the loneliness set in.
As a matter of fact he would still sleep with me now when Steven was working nights.
At last Isaac was born into our family and we wondered how Major would be with a new addition in the house, especially a newborn...
We soon learned that he was the best dog for children, though we weren't the least bit surprised. He was the sweetest dog to Isaac from the first day we brought him home and became very protective over his new baby brother.
As Isaac grew, so did Major's love for him.
Steven eventually began his three year residency at UAB and we moved into our current rental house. Major loved the bigger space to run around.
They were pals these two.
Once Isaac began walking and playing in the backyard he always wanted Major outside with him. Plus it made me feel safer when I couldn't watch him all the time because I knew that dog would bark if anyone set foot in our backyard.
Isaac LOVED chasing Major throughout the house yelling, run Major, run as loud as he could.
I'm sure Isaac could be so annoying and Major put up with a lot but never once was mean to little buddy. He was kicked and hit by toddler Isaac so many times and poor Major just took it. He knew if he could get far enough under the bed Isaac couldn't get to him. ;)
He had so much personality and we'll miss him so.
He would have been seven years old on July 7th but sadly didn't make it until then.
I'm sure you are all wondering what has happened to our dear old friend.
Last weekend Steven and I traveled to Fairhope to look for a house. We have decided to just rent there for a year to really get to know the area until we buy. We were discouraged the first day because there weren't many family homes for rent, however, we did manage to find the right home for us (thanks to the Lord) and with a perfect fenced in backyard for Major. The first night we arrived our neighbors called and said that Major had dug out of our backyard fence in Birmingham somehow and was nowhere to be found. Of course we were worried but prayed that night that the Lord would help us find him.
Well, find him we did the very next morning. We received a call from our sweet neighbor as he was driving into work. He had pulled out of our neighborhood driving a small ways when he saw him. Major was laying in the middle of the road. Gone.
We were shocked. It was a painful loss...still is. Every time I saw a dog that day I was sure to tear up. That morning, one landlord asked us if we had a dog for renting purposes and tears starting streaming down my face again. Poor guy, it wasn't his fault. I just couldn't help myself. Major was family.
Steven and I will miss him so much.
But I think it's safe to say that Steven will miss our friend the most.
They were big buddies.
We will miss you Maje!!
We will miss how happy you were all the time.
We will miss how you loved to play with anyone you came in contact with.
We will miss taking you on trips. You were always so thrilled to jump in the car for the journey ahead.
We will miss you cleaning up after us. (I've already had to sweep after every meal for the past week, something I've never had to do, and it makes me think of you every time...)
We will miss you at the lake.
I miss seeing you at the back door waiting to be let out.
We miss your beauty.
I miss seeing you sleep on your bed beside ours and hearing your heavy breathing in the middle of the night.
Thank you for loving us precious friend.
We will miss our first "baby."
From adorable little puppy...
...into a gorgeous, wonderful, and unforgettable companion and friend.
We miss you like crazy Major.
I could go on and on about the things I'll miss about you.
Thank you for loving us with unconditional love. You've taught us a little more about what it means to love our heavenly Father.
We are so thankful for your life and the joy you brought to our family.
You, my dear friend, will be missed every. single. day....
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