Last month we had to say goodbye to our dog, Sheena Bear, who had been a member of our family for fifteen years. Looking back, I realize that it was Sheena who prepared me for parenting in the Frumpy Zone.
June 1995
During the last week of school, the custodian brought in a puppy that needed a home. I took one look at the tiny ball of gray fluff and fell in love. I immediately grabbed her and cuddled her to my chest where she gave me a tiny lick on my chin.
I carried her down the hall to show off the new baby to my teacher friends. I stood in the doorway, holding her close and suddenly felt warm liquid dripping down my arms. My baby had peed all over me – this is when the portal to the Frumpy Zone first opened.
The next day, I brought Sheena back to school so she wouldn’t be alone all day.
(I was well on my way to becoming one of those spinster ‘cat ladies’ – except with a dog.) The drive into work made my baby car sick. I didn’t know she hadn’t been dewormed, so imagine my ‘grossification’ when I discovered that Sheena had thrown up a stomach full of spaghetti looking worms! EW, EW, EW, they were still MOVING! Perhaps I wasn’t cut out for motherhood.
Despite the rocky start, Sheena filled an empty space in my heart that I didn’t even know I had. Once I got married, Sheena accepted my husband into our small pack.(Goodbye dreams of spinsterhood.) Then baby #1 came along. Immediately, I was sucked into the portal of the Frumpy Zone, and no longer had any time to treat my dog like a child.
Despite the fact that Sheena had been demoted back to dog status, she treated all three of my children as if she was Nana from Peter Pan.Over the years, as she got older, Sheena slept more and more, but periodically, she would jump around and give her little ‘let’s play’ growl. We would shake our heads and think how lucky that our dog still acted like a puppy.
When we brought the new kitten into the house last spring, Sheena just looked at us with sad eyes that said, “REALLY?, You’re gonna make me deal with this little punk in my golden years?” She DID growl at him the first night, but after that, resigned that she was stuck with this newest member of the pack, Sheena sighed, put her head on her paws, and let the ‘newbie’ practice his pouncing skills on her tail.
I knew that Sheena’s time with us was coming to an end, but I still wasn’t ready for it. One morning, she fell down the stairs and dislocated her hip. Making the decision to put her down was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. The possibility of her recovering completely and living the rest of her days - pain free - were slim. How do you say goodbye to someone who has been such an integral part of your life?
That day, Sheena Bear was promoted back to human status as my husband and I held her, our tears dripping onto her fur while we said goodbye. The Frumpy Zone has a black hole without our dear Sheena Bear.
