I lost one of my best friends this week. Maggie passed away peacefully in her sleep sometime on Thursday evening. I went to give the dogs their dinner and noticed that she didn't move. This has happened once or twice when she was sleeping and didn't hear me right away. After giving all four dogs food, she still wasn't moving. I bent down and touched her ear. She was like a brick.
Maggie came to me when I was in college, early one Sunday morning. It was the first really cold morning of the season. I kept hearing a dog bark outside my window. It was making me nuts and I couldn't sleep. I finally decided to get up, go outside, and give the dog's owner a piece of my mind. I walked outside, went around a car only to find this small little puppy wagging it's tail at me. There was no one else around. She was soaking wet, cold, and happy to see someone. I told the little dog I would bring her inside if it would please just stop barking. I brought her in, toweled her off, put her in my bed and went back to sleep. I did eventually find her owner who was visiting a neighbor who happened to get thrown in jail. They were happy to hear that I would take care of her. That was 14 years ago, Maggie's been with me ever since.
She was such a great dog. Super smart, and just enough of a pain in the ass to keep me on my toes. She always rode in the car with me, ate with me, and somehow just knew when I was feeling lonely or sad. I have had other dogs come and go in my life, but none have ever matched her. She was always the smallest with the biggest attitude. She had a couple of rough times, but overall she never stopped being active and happy. Even the day before she died, she was still keeping up with the big dogs.
Over the last couple of days, I have thought of so many Maggie stories, from sleeping with us in the gym when we were stranded in Vauhn, New Mexico to falling asleep in my open suitcase when I returned from a trip. So many great stories. I'll always miss my little buddy, and she'll always hold a very special place in my heart.
RIP Maggie (aka- maggie dig dog digger, mig dog, mags, fluffy...)
