i'll remember her this way

we got molly and her sister sophie after the tragic loss of my childhood dog and quasi-sister (b/c i'm an only child and somehow pets become sibs when you're an only), kirsty. the year was approximately 1992; they were the cutest puppies we had ever seen and i begged and begged to get molly, another dog of my own. my mom and stepdad finally gave in and several weeks later the world's cutest puppies came into our home.

my mom will sometimes talk about how they were the worst puppies, but ended up being the best dogs. they were so hyper and difficult to train and they were big enough to hurt when they pulled or jumped. i don't think one of us escaped having giant bruises in the shapes of puppy claws running down our legs as a result of some hyper, "i'm so glad that you're home" interaction.

molly was definitely my dog and i loved that she was the first dog i ever had that played frisbee endlessly, she could jump so high. during my angsty high school years, it was with molly that i shared all my secrets about my broken hearts after boyfriends, my dreams, my next steps, etc. we'd walk at night in the neighborhood and i'd tell her my story. she was a constant listener and always wanted to be where you were - she could never get enough petting.

molly was our dog who stole baked goods (which she loved more than anything else) from the counters while they were cooling and she got into more trouble for climbing up on the couches - she always wanted to be a lap dog, but she was way too big.

her sister sophie, our other dog, died when i was in college and molly went through a huge depression - she'd lost her soul mate and single companion. molly powered through and ended up being such a great job in her later years. i didn't take her with me when i moved to seattle - by then we already thought she was too old (going on eight at that time and we'd never had a dog live more than 9 or 10 years), but every time i came home i'd spend countless hours petting molly.

this year molly turned 14 and the last couple years had been rough on her - we'd had a few scares with her and we knew that she was at the point in her life where she'd feel great and be playing and walking one day and gone the next.

over the weekend, molly passed away in a somewhat tragic accident given we always just thought she'd die in her sleep. she fell and hurt herself and no one knew she was that hurt - in a matter of hours she'd gone. i learned of it last night and spent hours looking at pictures of her, just crying my eyes out.

so this week we'll be quiet and mourn the loss.

i prefer to remember her this way - a loyal friend and constant companion, one who will surely be missed.