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Millie from the UK
I just read about Buddy. It got me thinking again about the
only dog I’ve ever known as our own pet, Millie. She was
born in 2001, about the time my mother & I moved house &
four years after my father died. She started as my brother’s
dog, but when his son was born two years later they
discovered Harry had a dog allergy! Add to that a wife
petrified of germs & a small house and you can imagine the
mixture of young dog and young human did not make for an
easy ride – especially as Harry really took to the animal
that made him sneeze! Rather than her leaving the family
completely it was suggested she come to live with myself &
my mother instead. I was reluctant at first – we had never
had a dog, as my father had been blind and any dog would had
to have been a working dog, not a family pet, and I had
always felt dogs to be smelly & hairy. I was of course right
in that – but I didn’t realize what a part of the family
they could become.
Millie stayed with us long after the 1 month test period –
actually, she never left! I grew to love her immensely, as
did we all, including some of my friends, who became a fan
club. There was even an incidence at a party we held when a
10 yr-old girl who was afraid of dogs, especially black
Labradors, as she had been attacked by one, was cowering
away from Millie, nervous of being near her. My mother
decided to bite the bullet & see if she could help the girl,
and encouraged her to try to get to know this dog, as she
was so gentle. Suffice to say that 10 minutes later girl &
dog were running around the garden together, playing
happily. Millie seemed to have that effect on just about
everyone.
Just before Christmas 2008 my mother had flu, my niece –
Harry’s 2 yr old sister, as it happens – had a broken thigh
bone, and Millie had a suspected ear infection, as she kept
losing her balance. We had a very quiet time, just myself,
my mother and her parents, and two weeks later Millie went
back to the vet. He was worried by the lack of any change –
no improvement but no worsening either, which would in some
ways have been better, as it might have just meant the
antibiotics weren’t strong enough. She went for an MRI scan
a couple of days later, where they discovered multiple brain
tumors & recommended she be put down without being woken up
to say goodbye, as it would be the kindest thing to do. I
wasn’t there – I was 120 miles away, in the centre of
London, having been to my cousin’s wedding, the only member
of our branch of the family able to make it! I thought I’d
better go, you see. Anyway, there I was, new year’s eve,
driving out of London, & I got a voicemail from my mother
telling me the bad news. I managed not to crash, just, &
drove back home up the blurred road.
It was the end of an era for us. Not only was Millie a great
dog, she had another side to her: she was very much like my
father, and had we believed in re-incarnation we would have
said it was him come back. I still sometimes wonder. They
both had thick black hair, both loved tea, both wanted to
get their own way & had a stubborn way of getting it. I also
discovered quite recently Millie enjoyed Guinness, something
we hadn’t tried her on before a small spillage at the pub –
but guess who else did! In a way it felt as though my father
had come back to get to know me a little better before
leaving for good, as he worked very hard as a solicitor when
he was around. The other thing is that they both died young.
My father was 48, Millie was 7 yrs 10 months. It’s not quite
the same, dog years to human years, but from what I can work
out by the confused information available online it’s not
that far off!
Anyway, after your story of Buddy I wanted to share that
wonderful chapter of our lives with you. Thank you for your
story – it got me crying again, & I needed to get some more
tears out.
Take care, & happy walkies etc!
Thomas Monument
UK
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