On 7 - 11 of 2000 marks the day that my best friend was born.
I can remember the day my Pappap brought her
over to the house, it was late, me, my mom, and brother were all
downstairs in the livingroom watching tv. I was four years old. During
the evening there was a knock on the door and my mom, dressed in her
pajamas, went and opened the door, my Pappap came in, all excited and
put down this little shy, quiet, puppy on the floor. I remember running
into the dinning room and dug around in the toy box and found a little
stuffed animal and a bouncy ball to give her, but she hid under the
chair, too shy, and probably tired, to do much.
Being the one who begged, and begged, and begged, and begged, and begged for a dog every year, for any occasion that a present could be given I got to name her. And what did I name this shy little hound dog that my Pappap would take out hunting with all of his manly-guy buddies? Peaches. That's right.
The name suited her like glove, too. She was the most kind, bubbly, happy, sweet, loving, energetic, stubborn, free-spirited, strong-willed dog I'd ever seen in my life.
She was my baby. Every dollar I had practically went to getting her things, she probably had five or ten different kinds of treats at all times, she had to work hard for those things though. Not that the training ever really stuck. She only seemed to stick with the tricks she liked and nothing else. Sit and lie down. She'd always get excited when you had food in your hand, she'd be jumping up, her tail wagging fifty miles an hour, her big brown eyes making your heart melt. The second you'd tell her to sit, she'd drop to the ground, shaking with excitment.
Peaches was also an escape artist. She had teeth of steel. We had to keep her outside in a kennel because she was impossible to house-train. Anytime she wanted out she'd use her teeth and tear apart the chain link fence with a hole that she could just manage to squeeze her body through and she'd take off up into the woods. Thankfully, Peaches was the kind of dog that when she'd get tired, she'd come home. She'd sit on the front porch, if we got back from a car ride looking for her, with her tail wagging, hoping to go inside like nothing had ever happened. Although, all you had to do was raise your eyebrows at her and she'd put her head down, her tail would go between her legs, and gave you the puppy-dog eyes.
Can't tell you how many times
We sort of always had a feeling that maybe something was wrong once she got around ten years old. She would only eat soft food, unless it was bones, she was also very picky when it came to food making it hard to actually give her something she could eat. Thankfully it never took long to figure out what she did or didn't like. If she didn't like the treat? She simply wouldn't eat it. If she didn't like the food? She'd paw it out of her feeder for the birds to eat.
So during the winter to make sure she was eating enough food we'd mix up dry food with a can or left-overs with some bacon greasy, and bones and meat so she'd be sure to have some fat on her.
But I can remember when things really started to go down hill. I had her out of the kennel on the runner, sitting in the yard taking pictures to spend time with her and it was one of those times where you know something's off, but you can't place it, then the problem hits you suddenly. She stopped running. She was always a runner, the word 'walk' wasn't in her doggy gates. She didn't have it in her anymore. In that moment I prayed she'd just make it till next summer, I didn't want her to go during the freezing cold winter.
Time went on, the cold months passing, preparing myself mentally for the fact she'd soon be turning fourteen soon, everything would be just dandy... and then February came. My mom and Grandma told me that Peaches hasn't been out of her box in a couple days and she hasn't been eating. Pappap couldn't get her out no matter how much he called.
I took a trip over, me and Pappap had built Peaches a box that the room could come off so we could put stray in during the winter to keep her warm. I took the top off. There she was in the corner, curled up, looking at me with her sad brown eyes that just killed you chest. I put my hand on her stomach and helped her up, she walked out of the box, her tail wasn't wagging like it usually would, she was sad, and unhappy, she was going.
There was maybe a week or two where she did better, I made sure to get her out often, to get her moving in hopes it would help, she'd walk, but she couldn't climb anything. We'd be outside and I'd be cleaning out her water bowl or something and she'd walk to go up the stairs and she'd sit there and stare at me, waiting for help. I'd go over, carry her up and go back to my business, she'd come back down a minute or two later, walk around, then back to the steps, standing there staring at me, waiting for help. It went on and on till it was time for her to go back in her kennel.
On March 13 of 2013 Peaches said goodbye.
Nothing has been the same since she's been gone, it's so weird knowing that I've been without a dog for over a year now being she was there with me for thirteen years, I still miss her, and I will always miss her.
I'm happy for her though, now she's in the place where she's happy, healthy, and probably chasing rabbits to her hearts content.
I miss you, Peaches.
Facts:
Name: Peaches
Age & Birthday: 13 and July 11th, 2000
Color: Brown, Black, and White
Fav Food: Mainly anything moist, she had bad teeth, but to go with the question: Gravy Train Dry Food (she liked it made up all fancy though)
Fav Treat: Carry Outs Beef Cuts(I think that's what their called) and the Snaw Somes Beef & Cheese. Again, she was for the softer things, I can't recall her ever being a 'Milkbone' kinda dog.
Fav Toy: Stuffed animals. She loved to tear them apart! But she had one that was a hedgehog she kept, I assumed that that was her favorite toy.
Tricks? Yes, Sit and lie down. She was a stubborn one, she was.
Indoor or Outdoor: Outdoor, only because she chewed EVERYTHING and couldn't get her house-broke.
Quirk: When you told her to sit she'd try to trick you and sit on the side of her hind leg.
