We got our girls in 2005, Miele first. She was a great dog, but her one flaw was that she was lonely when we went out, and she would try to dig her way out. She ruined the carpet near the garage door, and she chewed up the garage door frame. So, we decided to get her a companion. We took Miele with us to the animal shelter, planning to get a smallish dog, but there was Makena. We loved her as soon as we met her, and she and Miele played like they had been together since day one. So, now we had two dogs.
Miele was an only dog for a very short time
Mackie was very much a snow dog.
Of course, both dogs loved Bryanna and Bailey, and vice versa.
They loved to go into the backyard, but only if we were out there, too. We'd open the door and they would run out like they had been waiting for just that one chance to be out there. They would run around the yard for two or three minutes, but if we didn't go out there, they would be at the door wanting to come back in.
We got Mackie groomed about every three months. But, once, I did the job myself. I learned a lesson.
In summer of 2014, we got a new hose. I attached it, and took it to the backyard, which means it went from the faucet and through the dogs yard right by their doggie door. Mackie did not like that, at all! We think she thought it was a snake, although she had never encountered one of those, except on TV.
They were always so playful, and they played tug with the toys so hard that they wore them out pretty quickly.
They hung out together all the time.
There were beds in the living room and our room, but they usually only slept on them at night. They preferred the floor, our bed or the couch.
And they especially liked to be on the couch, our bed, or our laps.
They always made us smile.
She didn't like tomatoes, but she was very curious about this.
I don't know if I want to get up here.
Who, me?
They loved to look out the front door, but if they saw anyone, they would carry on so we usually blocked their view with a baby gate. One day when I was at work, Bill saw two ducks walking around in the rain on our front sidewalk, so he let the girls watch for a long time. They were quiet and very intent.
In August, 2020, I vacuumed the house. Mackie settled down in the sunroom, and just didn't want to move when I wanted to put everything back where it belonged, so...
The dogs were friendly with everyone who came over and everyone loved them.
2014 With Brian and Monique
And they loved to help us in the kitchen. Whether it was waiting for toast, eating lettuce we didn't want to use, or cleaning up the apple skins when we made pie, they were always eager.
As soon as they saw suitcases come out, they knew we were going to go on a trip.
Sometimes, if our trip was only a night or two, we left them home and Mickie and Maxine would feed them. And sometimes they would go to the Brown house to stay.
Once in a while, we would have Bruno and Cowboy over to stay with us for a few days.
And a couple of times, we went to the Brown house to stay while they went on trips.
The dogs were always exhausted after playing with Cowboy and Bruno
Sometimes, we would take care of Cooper for a short time. While he wasn't a playful dog, they all got along fine.
Garage sale in June 2018.
Tony didn't often sleep here, because we didn't have a proper bed, but when he did Miele always slept with him.
Bryanna and Bailey came over quite often for sleepovers until they were in their teens. The dogs always slept with them.
The dogs were almost always together. The only time they weren't was when Mackie was being groomed. One day, we took Miele to the river to play, and we didn't tell Mackie about it.
From the first, Mackie took interest in the TV. Whenever there were animal images, even insects, she watched intently. If the scene became very active, she would get very excited, trembling, whining, and even barking sometimes. She would also jump up on the TV cabinet. We were never able to break her of that. So, if we were watching a show that got too busy, we had to stop watching until she was not in the room, which wasn't very often. We had to give up watching Funniest Home Videos because of her.
I wish we had taken them out with us more often, but Miele was so anxious in the car that she whined the whole time. Also, there was the problem of Mackie being so strong that, when she saw another dog, she growled and pulled so hard that we were afraid we would lose control of her.
Walking on a Hidden Valley trail in 2015
A few years ago, I started watching an eagle cam in Florida, waiting for the eggs to hatch. Mackie would sit beside me and watch the computer screen whenever the eagles moved, and especially after the eaglets hatched.
She would even watch when I wasn't there.
Eagle watching in 2017
More eagles to watch in 2019
In early 2015, we noticed a lump on Mackie's left shoulder. We waited a few weeks to see what it did, and when it grew, we took her in to Dr. Vitorri. It was a glioma, and had to be removed. That was several hundred dollars, and there was no guarantee that it wouldn't come back. It did return in 2017 and we had it removed, again. We knew it was malignant, and that it would come back, again.
.
In late 2019, there it was, again, and it grew pretty fast. We took her in to see the doctor in February, and they would have removed it, again, but, at 15, her chances of coming through the surgery weren't as good as the first two times, and we decided not to put her through it.
Miele woke up one morning one day in August, 2019, and we saw that her head was tilted and she couldn't walk very well. She ran into walls and fell over. We thought she'd had a stroke, but it was doggie vertigo, and the doctor said it might resolve itself. We took her home and helped her to go outside to go potty for a few days, and it did get progressively better.
Miele had arthritis, and sometimes when she got up from sleeping, she walked very stiffly. Other ties she was fine. She would tear across the room like a banshee, circle around and come back a couple of times, and then stand there looking like she had just needed to get a little exercise. She had been progressively acting strangely for the last year or so. She sometimes would stare at the wall or go out in the dog yard and stand staring at the fence. Dr. Vitorri said it was dementia, and it wouldn't get any better, but she was still in pretty good health.
Mackie's lump grew very fast, from baseball size in February to the size of a large canteloupe by August. She didn't act like it bothered her, but, she panted a lot, and sometimes I would wake up during the night and hear her panting. So, we knew she was in some discomfort.
Mackie always got excited at mealtimes, even to the last day. Miele was always indifferent, so we had to add wet dog food or leftover people food to get her to eat. The last week, Mackie started eating dinner lying down, and she would eat her toast very gently, because Miele didn't seem to care that we were eating, so there was no competition.
Because Miele stopped coming over for toast, Bill would tear our crusts into little pieces and sit on the floor to feed them.
The last morning, I made scrambled eggs, and they each had a plate of eggs and toast for their second breakfast.
Dinner in August
The weekend of August 25 was bad, because I knew that the time had come. Mackie spent a good part of the nights panting, and though she still got excited at breakfast time, she would spin around and hit the wall, causing herself to fall. During the day, she seemed lethargic. Miele was the same as she had been for the past couple of months. I called the bet Monday morning, and the only appointment I could get was Tuesday, Bill's birthday. I didn't want to do it that way, but I had to.
Bill gave them their last dinner at 3:15 and we took them for a four PM appointment, stopping at the park for a few minutes to let them sniff around. Because of Covid, we had to phone them when we got there. Two techs came out to get the dogs, just to put the IV line in. Then we joined them. It was very sad, but we knew we were doing what was best for them. We loved them so much. We had them in our family for 15 years, longer than any of our other dogs. They died with their front paws crossed over each other.
The house seems strange. We don't know if we will ever get another dog. We are going to dog sit and I'm going to look into the fostering program. We will always miss out girls.
Hi, Mom and Dad,
Now that we've been across The Rainbow Bridge for a few weeks, they said we should write a letter home. Sorry, guys but we're so busy across the bridge that we haven’t thought of home much. They said it’s okay and that you would understand. We hope you do. (We think you will.)
Remember that afternoon when we weren't feeling very well and we were all crying? We don’t remember much, but we do remember seeing and hearing you and feeling your touches and hugs…we remember hearing “we love you” and that one last command of “Go through.” We didn’t know what you meant, so we turned around and, together, we walked through the fog that was in front of us. We saw the biggest bridge we’ve ever seen! And so many friends on the other side of it! They were all playing with toys and balls! You were right to tell us to go there!
Our feet kept moving forward, but our hearts kept pulling us back. Your touches became lighter and lighter and we wanted to come back and nudge your hands for more love, but we were overcome by this feeling of curiosity for the happy place over the bridge! Our feet started moving on their own, like a gentle breeze was moving them forward for us! We can’t explain it, but we had no doubt that it was the right thing to do!
So, we walked across that big, huge bridge together! We looked for you, because you’re always by our sides walking with us, but this was different. We didn’t have a collar around our necks or a leash connecting us to you ~ we were ‘free’! Even though you weren’t there with us, we never felt alone! We actually felt like we had a huge cape of love wrapped around our bodies and the more we walked, the easier it was to breathe! So, we kept walking! And we would feel more warmth in the big hug, so we kept on walking! We eventually made it over the big bridge – We did it by ourselves Mom and Dad. When we got here, all of our new friends greeted us and helped us walk off the bridge ~ it was so cool! They gave us wings and said that we were now Guardian Angels! And, we met all the dogs you loved before we got to live with you. They remember you with as much love as we do.
What we’ve learned over these past few weeks has been amazing and nothing like we’ve seen before! We’re all the same up here ~ we all have wings and we all have Forever People to watch over ~ that’s YOU, Mom and Dad! You’re our Forever People and we're your Forever Dogs! We had such a great life together and we do miss you a LOT, but please know that we are so happy in our new home across The Bridge!
If you decide to get another Earth Angel so you won't be all alone, give them your whole hearts, like you gave them to us. We'll check in every so often to make sure they treasure your love ~ we always did! When you miss us, think of a rainbow and know we're on the other side of it, waiting to walk with you again. We'll always be in your heart. We love you, Mom and Dad! Time for us to go play.
