The Sweetest Things of Life

Life sure was difficult. I was born on a farm...an ocean of one crop after another. I used to think that was what the entire world was made up of. I had a lot of brothers and sisters, and unfortunately back then, I was the smallest...believe it or not. Everything was a struggle; eating, drinking, finding a suitable place to play...you name it and I'll tell you how many miles I had to hike in the snow...uphill...both ways. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating...a little.

A lot of people would come to visit the farm, but nobody seemed to want to play with me until one very cold February Saturday. I was trying to see what was left for lunch when I noticed all of my brothers and sisters running towards the gate. I couldn't imagine what was going on until I looked up...WAY up. Who did I see, but two humans. In an instant, my brothers and sisters surrounded them, wagging their tails and sniffing and licking their shoes. An utter embarrassment to act like that just because a couple of humans were in our pen.

I guess you could say it was more my size that caused me to be the last puppy to greet the humans. After all, I was ALWAYS the last to arrive anywhere, especially when it came to my pushy and uncouth siblings. I was forever getting squeezed out of the line to my mother...or to anything exciting, so this was no different. I liked to think I was just way cooler than the others and I purposely arrived late to see what the humans were up to.

The humans were ginormous! One of the humans was an older male and one was a younger female. They looked like they could be related to each other. The younger female bent down every now again to pet one of us. She had the biggest smile on her face. I could sense right away that she was a kind type of human. She was so funny because she kept repeating, "Oooo, they're just so cute! How will I ever choose just one?" Then the older male would tell her she couldn't take us all home. From his response I knew that one of us might be going home with them! Immediately, I started to cuddle up to both of them as much as possible. This was my way out and I had to make a good impression!

It worked because soon the female was scooping me up and cuddling me. That first cuddle moment was like magic. I'd never felt anything like it. Her warmth, not just from her body, but from her heart was incredible. I'm not quite sure, but I thought I saw a little tear in her eye. I wished so hard that she would take me home with her and I didn't stop wishing as I hard as I could until I was in the car with her, laying in her lap.

She held on to me pretty tightly and I was glad of it. The older male was in charge of driving the car. It wasn't too long into our journey that I heard her call him dad. We were in the car for a long time and I saw so many weird things. Quickly I found out that most of the world did NOT look like the farm. There were roads with lots of cars, big and little. There were buildings of all different shapes and sizes. Trees and flowers....and SO MANY PEOPLE! So many things to look at, hear, and smell!

Finally, not only did the car stop, but the dad turned the car off. I looked out the window and saw a hill of grass. At the top of the hill was a house. Was this my new home? The next few hours were kind of a whirlwind. I was pretty sleepy after that long trip, but I do remember the bath. The female, whose name I found out was Lonelle, gave me my first human bath. It was COLD, but I felt much better once she had me all wrapped up in the warm towel.

That first day was so freeing! I didn't have to wait in line for anything! When it was time to eat, I ate. When I wanted to sleep, I slept. No paws in my face, nobody chewing on my ear or tail. Just peace and quiet. The only hiccup was when the dad gave me a bone and then tried to take it away. Don't worry, I growled my most ferocious snarl and that did the trick. He quickly pulled his hand away and I was able to finish my bone. We had an understanding after that...he gave me all of his steak bones and I left his fingers intact.

I thought I had found my home, but the next day, Lonelle packed all my stuff up, put me in a box, started a different car, and away we went to a different home. This journey was full of a lot of twists and turns, but wasn't nearly as long as that first trip we had taken. Even though this trip was just her and me, she talked to me a lot. I really liked that. She acted like I was a human, too, and that made me feel special. We arrived to the new house and Lonelle made a bed just for me. I explored the new house, but I started to miss her dad. I really enjoyed snuggling with him.

The next day, Lonelle explained while I was eating breakfast that she would have to go to work. I was to stay in my bed area. My area had a water bowl and what she called a potty pad. I'm still not sure what I was supposed to do with that thing. She was gone so long I thought maybe she would NEVER be back, but just when I started to cry I heard her walk into the door. She cuddled me super tightly. I knew she missed me as much as I missed her.

The next few days were just like that first work day. Lonelle would leave in the morning, but return before dinner. I was mostly okay with that arrangement since I did my best sleeping while the sun was out. Then one day after work, she put me in the car box and drove me back to her dad's house. I was SO EXCITED to see her dad. I didn't want to leave his side. Every chance I had I curled up on him and just laid there. When he was sitting on the couch, I crawled up on his shoulder, stuck my nose in his pocket to stay warm, and watched t.v. with him. I thought my plan to never leave his side had worked. When Lonelle and her family went to church...they took me with them! I had NEVER heard of any puppy who got to go to church! It was great. Lonelle wrapped me up in a blanket and every so often pulled the blanket back, just a little, to introduce me to their friends. What a day!! It was the BEST!

That afternoon, however, Lonelle put me back in that car box and we drove up the mountain again. She told me she had to go back to work the next day. That was the way life went for a while. Lonelle would work for a bunch of days and then on the last day of work, back into the car box I went and down the mountain we drove to her family. I knew we were close to her dad's house when I heard the whistling song on the radio. When I heard that song I knew it was time to wake up and look out the window.

Life with Lonelle was perfect. One week she didn't have to go to work. She called it "spring break." She put me in my car box, but we didn't drive down the mountain, we drove somewhere else to see her dad! She told me it was where her dad worked. His work was big and had a bunch of windmills whirling around. She wrapped me in a blanket again and as soon as we saw her dad he grabbed me and cuddled me. He walked around all of his buildings showing me to people and telling them I was his granddog. I was his granddog!! I knew from then on, he loved me! Just when life couldn't get better, it had!

Life was full of dishwashers to lick, bones to eat, and fun car rides that led to new adventures. I wish life could have stayed like that for a bit longer, but for some reason I had to leave. One day, I started to feel very sick. I remember Lonelle said she would have to take me to the doctor to have her help me feel better. That sounded like a good plan, but I didn't make it. My little body just couldn't get better. So I've been up here in heaven ever since.

Don't worry, I've watched Lonelle every day...every week...every month...and every year over the decades. At first, after I had to leave, Lonelle wasn't doing very well. She cried a lot. I tried to talk to her and tell her I was okay, but she couldn't hear me. Slowly she got back into life. After a while she even started to laugh again. After I had been up here in heaven for several months, guess who else got into heaven? Her dad! I was so excited to see him, but I knew Lonelle would be very sad again. I wish I could have helped her.

We watch her together, me cuddled on her dad's shoulder. We've seen it all. We watched as she walked down the aisle to get married to that boy she started dating when I was still with her. We watched them welcome each baby. We've watched over those babies, too, and boy could that one baby cause some trouble! We will always watch over Lonelle and her family until we can welcome them to heaven and be together again. In the meantime, I know she still thinks of me. I hear her when she tells a story or reminisces about me. I will always love her as I know she will always love me. Our eternal friendship is one of the sweetest things of life!

 END 

My full name is Lonelle, and yes, this story is about my puppy. Her name was B-52 and she was a Beagle-y Beagle. Despite her EXTREMELY short time on this earth, she was one of the best things that ever happened to me. She entered my life at one of my darkest times, but she was able to witness one of my happiest moments, as well. We were only together for a handful of months before she passed away on my 24th birthday. She will ALWAYS be a part of me and I truly believe she is keeping tabs on me up in heaven with my Dad!