| Leigh-Anne's Dog, "Lover Dolly," - A Tribute… Lover Dolly, my dog, died at 2:10 pm Sept. 19, 1997 Today, it was so hard before her doctor arrived at my home, I was with Lover all morning loving her and talking to her while she was sniffing and digging around her bed. I told her that I was doing it for her because I didn't want her to suffer more later on. Lover was totally blind, deaf, had bad back problems and she yipped occasionally because she probably was uncomfortable While I was talking to her, she couldn't understand what was going on, but she was licking me and occasionally barked. When, the doctor and a male nurse arrived, I started to fall apart with tears running down my cheeks. While Dr. Williams was giving her a shot, Lover barked three times saying "I LOVE YOU" I was saying to her "It is alright, Lover it's alright I love you." After Lover went asleep, I held her in my lap for a minute saying goodbye Lover acted like a peaceful RaggedyAnn doll. I kissed her before Dr. Williams took her away. I'm having her cremated. When I get her ashes back, I'm going to go really early in the morning to the beach, before sunrise Sprinkle her ashes out in the ocean so I will feel her spirit around me when the sun is rising. I know I will be close to Lover whenever I go out fishing. I'm feeling so sad because I am missing her already, but I, also, feel so relieved that Lover is at peace right now and free from suffering. Lover was a wonderful dog and truly a best friend to me I will never forget her and I know that Lover knows that I loved her very much. A Memory of Her Life First of all, I want to thank Grandpa Barnett. He is the one who gave me my beautiful toy poodle. He bought Lover from a breeder. Since Lover's mother could not take care of Lover because Lover was so sick and dying, Grandpa decided to take good care of Lover by feeding her, bathing her, loving her, and giving her a lot of shots to cure her. About a few weeks later, Grandpa called me in Michigan from Ohio to tell me that he had a special dog for me to take care of. My parents didn't expect it. Anyway, Grandpa ask me to think up a name for Lover and he described her personality. So, I called him back the next day and I decided to name her "Lover Dolly." Note: I know some of you will think the name sounds funny, but I was 12 yrs. old when I got her and I didn't know any better except that she loved to lick people all the time. LOL When my grandpa and Lover came to visit me, Lover looked so small and adorable. She was under five pounds. She would nibble my fingers, ears and toes. She was a licker. I could tell that she was a people animal. When I would give her a bath, she looked like a little drowned rat. After she became more mature, she weighed under 10 pounds. I was grateful for that because she could jump up on my lap. Later on, when she got to know me really well, she knew that I was a unique person. She sensed that I needed help physically. Every morning when I would wake up, she would lay her dry dog food on my bed next to me right after she would eat herself so I'd have some. Whenever I called someone for help, Lover would always go to get the person and bark loudly for them to realize that I needed help. When Lover and I would play with her ball, she would drop the ball next to me or on my lap so I could reach and throw it with no problem. But, with the people who didn't have any physical disability, Lover would drop the ball about four or five feet away to make them walk to get it. Talking about unique, SHE WAS UNIQUE! Lover used to tease me when we had playfights She would gently grab my wrist with her mouth while she was growling and sometimes, she would knock me over. Her favorite snack was Bonz and Marrow Bones Whenever I gave her some bones, she always dug under her bed and hid the bone. Lover was very smart. She would sit nicely and speak loudly when I had some food for her. There were some foods that she liked which I thought were weird I.E.: dill pickles, pickle peppers, some chips with hot sauce, hot peanuts and almost anything. Of course, Mc Donald's french fries and popcorn were her favorites. LOL The foods that she didn't like were raisins, lettuce, and grapes. Lover was so funny, too. When I would cry, Lover would come to me and lick my tears while she was barking. As if she were saying "It's okay!" As she became elderly, she would lick my feet for half an hour or so. She and I finally knew that we could not play with each other like we used to because of her back. She had developed bad arthritis in her lower back and also, had become a little deaf. So, we accommodated each other. Her back would feel better about 15 minutes after I gave her a baby aspirin. She acted young again when the aspirin clicked in. Then she would ask me to play again. The aspirin was a miracle for her. Besides that, she knew that everytime I would get her some American processed cheese from the refrigerator and shake the baby aspirin bottle (I put her aspirin in the cheese and rolled it up in a little ball for her to chew). She would feel better after while. She would get so excited to eat that miracle food for her back. Lover Dolly, my very best friend, taught me a lot about life. Life is a circle. When Lover came to me as a baby, she had to learn everything. When she became old, she became my baby again. I will never forget her. A Tribute: Leigh-Anne Tompkins | |