Rest in Peace, Tootsie. We will miss you.

Posted by Holly Published in Uncategorized

Today, around 5:45pm I got a text message from Joey, saying simply “bad news.” I called him when I got downstairs to pick me up after work, and he informed me that Tootsie was no longer with us. She had bolted out the door when he came home – part of her usual “happy to see us” routine, lately – and ran into the path of a truck on the street in front of the house. Her back was broken and she died very shortly after that. Joey felt her heart stop beating after a couple of minutes. Hopefully she was not in pain, during that brief time.

I am crying as I write this, because Tootsie was such a joy and blessing in our lives, and mine in particular. We got her from a shelter on November 2, 2007 (right around the time Ivy was conceived, though we didn’t know that until over a month later). From the git-go, she was a loving, happy, soft, small, warm, wiggly, nibbly bundle of a dog that loved everyone she met, and even got a grumpy dog like Rusty to play again like a puppy. Tootsie topped out at a slighly chubby 12 pounds or so, and never got very tall, so she was perfect as a lap dog. Or for keeping your feet warm under the covers on a cold night. Or for just snuggling up next to you on the couch while you work late or watch TV.

She was blissfully unaware of dangers around her, like a child, which lead to her demise, ultimately. Just this morning, we had been talking about putting a fence up to enclose the front porch, since she’d really started sneaking around legs and running outside quickly, the last few weeks.

We buried her down by Buffalo Bayou, near the three concete silos where Joey took the dogs on daily walks while we lived in the apartments. He chose a spot near a brambly area where she once got tangled up and sat quietly waiting for her human knight in shining armor to come find her. No barking or whimpering, just quietly waiting. It made Joey angry at the time, but was part of her cute appeal – she could play rough and tumble with Rusty, but most of her demeanor (when she didn’t get the rips out of excitedness and go tearing through the house, tail tucked and hauling ass like a jackrabbit) was that of sweetness – she would greet people with tremendous enthusiasm, and immediately roll over onto her back to present her round little belly for petting.

It will be tough getting used to daily life without her. She was so involved in almost every aspect that things will probably feel remiss for awhile. If you met her, you know what a sweetheart she was. If you didn’t, you can get a good feeling for that by seeing some of the photos we took of her over the last year and a half. There are plenty on Joey’s personal website where he has his cellphone pix, and I have some as well on MUGS (those are primarily from her first few months with us, before I got too pregnant to keep up with things like dog photos).