Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Your 'Mom' Still Misses You

A year ago today I lost the best thing that ever happened to me. Many people on my feed may not understand, but many of you will and, even better, many of you knew him.

Yes, I'm talking about my little monkey boy, Cliff the Mutt. I got him when he was 4 months old and he was mine and mine only from day one. He is why I support rescues, why I volunteered at the Humane Society and, with Oscar the Dog, why we walked in the Human Race very year for the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.

He and I were a Pet Assisted Therapy team. People that hadn't moved or responded in weeks would smile, or reach out a hand, or speak when they saw Cliff. They didn't care about the chick holding his leash and that was okay.

He brought such joy into my life and helped me through more pain and sadness than 15 pounds of fur and squeaky monkey noises should ever have to for a person. I wouldn't have made it through any of it without him there with me.

He let me drag him on planes to visit sick in laws. He traveled every where in the RV. He went on the Jet Skis with me (VERY unwillingly but always safely). He slept through my driving. Many a road trip to Tucson happened with him in the passenger seat.

Lastly, with his health already failing, he let me move him halfway across the country so I could have a new start in a new place. It would not have gone as well without him.

Its hard to believe that he's been gone a year already. The Squeaks keep me busy now, but I think of Cliffy every day. A part of him ended up in my Ru Ru. He has the same white check on his belly. He squeaks and sings when I get home like Cliff and he lays under the desk when I'm at the computer and snuggles with me at night.

So Cliff may be gone, but his soul is still here and his memory will always be with me. His eyes are my FB timeline cover photo and always will be. Because he always saw people for what they were, I was no exception. He loved me unconditionally and I still try to spend a bit of every day making sure I still deserve that.

I love you and miss you so much Cliffy Mutt.