Good and Faithful Servant

My family dog had to be put to sleep this last weekend at the age of 16. That is a good, long life for a dog, but that probably just makes it harder to let her go. She was the runt of her litter and because of this always seemed like a puppy to me, making the phone call I got even more shocking (“Mom, she’s just a puppy…”). I knew she was old because getting up and down stairs was probably her least favorite activity next to knowing our family was leaving on a trip. She hated suitcases and packing more than any person I have met. This was because she was so loyal and loving. If we left, how would she keep an eye on us?

It has been hard to write this post without tearing up because I can only picture her healthy and alive. She was never a sick dog or even a complainer. If I wanted to go for a jog even if my brother had taken her to the park and my mom had brought her along on a walk, she was ready for me.

In addition to her endless great qualities, there were also a lot of great memories, a few of which I will highlight now:

• My freshman year. First high school dance. First boyfriend. My mom was in charge of picking us up from the dance. Who does she bring? Meli. What does meli do? Flips out in the back seat on my dates lap and refuses to move off of him, in which case my mom roles down the window to let Meli have fresh air. Did it matter it was raining? No. Did it matter that he was covered in wet dog hair? No. Was I traumatized? Yes.


• During most of the time we had Meli, we also owned Peaches. Peaches was the queen of the house and also a cat. She got all of the attention not because we loved her more but because she demanded it. Frankly, I didn’t care for her, because she hated me, but Meli was smart enough to know that this cat ruled the domain. So what did Meli do? Oh, she would act like a cat. I don’t mean she was prissy and annoying; I mean she, a golden retriever, would get up on top of tables and curl up. I mean she, a four legged dog would attempt to walk along the railing of our deck (maybe 6 inches wide) where you would commonly find her stuck and unable to move due to the fact that she, indeed, was not a cat.


• Whenever Meli was excited the noise she made would scare most people off when in actuality it just meant, “Yes! Let’s play! I want to play. Now. Right now.” It sounded like a growl but I think it was more similar to a child that can’t contain their excitement so they scream. It was the best.


• The first week of having Meli I refused to sleep in my bed but instead stayed out in the living room with her on the ground where she like to sleep. This role included cleaning her pee and poop in the middle of the night, but I wouldn’t give up my position.
• The process of naming her was also hilarious. My brother was pushing for the name of any guy from the Dodgers starting line up while I was set on something girly and dumb (hence the cat named Peaches). We settled on Meli (thanks mom) because it means 'honey' in hawaiian and she was the perfect golden for that name.

These pictures were taken just a couple of weeks before we had to put her to sleep. RIP Meli.