1995-1997
Chewie with Lori, 1995
One cold, snowy Colorado spring day I had stayed home from classes to work on my thesis. I was looking out the front window trying to gain inspiration, as people often do when faced with the daunting task of a fifty page paper, when I saw this little puppy running down the street chasing cars. Now I love dogs so of course I went outside to check on this puppy and of course I brought him inside and gave him water and snacks. He did not have a collar and was very young and very wet. As I sat deciding what to do with this puppy, he saw the neighbor's mini van drive by and chased after it. I watched as he ran around the neighbor's kids and figured he must be their dog. Grudgingly I went back to my thesis. At noon Rob came home to have lunch with me and I told him about the puppy, suddenly the doorbell rang and it was the mailman. He had found the puppy hiding under my car and had thought it might be ours. We took him in again. This time he got a bath because he was covered in grime from being under the car. It turns out he did not belong to the neighbors. We checked the lost dogs ads in the newspaper and called the pound to let them know we had found this puppy. After this we drove to a pet supply store and bought a bowl, some food, a little brush, a leash and collar. We had decided that we would keep him until his family could be located. As it turns out, we never located his family. We think that some one just dumped him in our neighborhood. For a long time when we would go somewhere in the car Chewie (Chewbacca) would be afraid and did not want to leave the car as if he was afraid we would drive off without him. How someone could abandon this beautiful, sweet puppy in the cold, is beyond me!
Chewie was an amazing dog and we feel so lucky to have shared our lives with him. As it turns out, his time with us was cut short. This is a hard lesson that I hope no one ever has to learn:
NEVER TAKE YOUR DOG OFF A LEASH.
Even if you have a dog which comes to you whenever you call, it only takes one time, one moment, for disaster to strike. We were walking from the car to the front door as we had done hundreds of times before when Chewie saw a rabbit which he could not resist chasing. Rob called him back and he stopped but the instinct was too strong and he resumed the chase across a field and onto a busy street. He was killed by a car. I have met people who say that this can't happen to them, that their dogs always come when they call them etc. Well, we thought the same and we paid the price. Ask yourself: are you willing to gamble the life of your dog, your faithful friend, your beloved pet on your certainty that he will always listen? Just as a human child may be smart and obedient and listen to their parents, accidents can and DO happen and a dog is no more predictible than an eager, playful child.
Chewie has taught us a painful lesson and we are now better pet owners for it. There are times when we do allow our dogs to run loose but it is within spaces we can control such as a fenced-in baseball diamond, a fenced school yard etc or when we are camping and hiking in wilderness areas.
Please be careful, it only takes a second for the unthinkable to happen. If we can help others to avoid this tragedy, then Chewie's death will not be in vain.
PET LOSS: For those of you who may be suffering from the heartache of losing a pet, let me assure you that your pain will eventually get better. It is not easy, but time does heal as they say. The time will come when you will be able to think of you pet without a deep pain in your heart. I can't recommend whether to go out and get another pet or to wait because I think that depends on the individual. There are groups which have some helpful information on pet loss. I will include some links on this page.
Pet Reflections- On line Memorial Quilt & Virtual Refection Space
