Not only did I talk and think about Katy a lot yesterday, I spent a little time with her, too.

When our two miniature dachshunds died, years and years ago, we had them cremated and buried in the yard, with pink dogwood trees to mark the spots. (Pink because they were both girls, of course.) But when Katy died, I didn’t know if I might be moving out, or staying, or what, and wanted to be sure that I could keep her with me.

(Does this seem morbid to you? It’s not like I weep over her ashes every day, but it does kind of make me feel good knowing where they are. I can’t remember the last time I visited my grandparents at the cemetary, either, but it’s good to know that I could.)

So, she’s spent the last 8 years in the crate she arrived in (when I had her flown up from North Carolina as a puppy). Yesterday, I pulled it out of the closet for the first time in about 6 years and let her sit in the sun for a bit.

It’s really rather cozy, though, in her crate. Not only are her ashes in there, but she’s got her collar, her leash, her favorite toys. You know, to keep her from getting bored (and because I couldn’t bear to get rid of them).

There’s actually more than one collar–I’ve got the one she came with in there–bright pink and so relatively tiny that it just barely fits over Chappy’s nose.

There’s also this.

We had one of these picture frames for Jilly. It’s got room for a photo on one side, and a clay pawprint on the other. We got one for Jilly for her last Christmas, did her pawprints in January, and lost her in February 1999. (Just in the nick of time, in other words.) And her picture is lovingly displayed in our family room.

For Katy, though, I had bought another pawprint kit for her, but hadn’t gotten around to doing it yet. First I’d waited for her paws to grow up to full-size. Also, of course, I thought I had plenty of time. I never dreamed I’d lose her at 20-months old.

And while I was mourning her loss at the vet’s office, that was one of the things I mentioned.

Do you want to know how wonderful my vet was?

He told me that, if I could get him that kit quickly enough, he would see what he could do. And look what he did! Not only did he get two pawprints for me, but he imprinted her name into the clay, as well as a couple flowers. Is that not an above-and-beyond kind of thing to do, or what?

The irony is that he was the one vet of the group that Katy had never particularly liked–she used to grumble under her breath at him, but be sweet as pie to all the others. I don’t care what she thought, he definitely gets Good Vet Points in my book.

The sad part, though, is that I can’t bring myself to display this pawprint. I’m incredibly grateful to have it, but it’s kind of a sad memento. So I let Katy keep it for me, in her crate.

For the record, Chappy was definitely interested in this stuff yesterday. He sniffed at her picture, licked her bone (and seemed to think it smelled much more interesting than the one HE has). Perked his ears up when I accidentally squeaked her toy. And generally acted very respectful the whole time. He even, according to Mom, spent some time sitting next to the closet door where we keep Katy’s crate–an unusual spot for him, but maybe he wanted to spend some time with his sister.

That doesn’t mean he didn’t get bored, though. After all, it’s the dog that’s HERE that needs the tummy rubs, right?

He’s got a point!

Tags: Katy, Jilly, Muppy // 8 Comments »