A Tribute to Gizmo

In a couple of my previous posts I referred to Gizmo, also known as Mr. Mo. Gizmo was our first dog and presumably much like a first child, we knew nothing and he ended up ruling the roost!

We went to a pet store in the mall in Arizona "just to look" (famous last words) because we weren't even allowed a dog in our apartment complex. He was this little 3 pound ball of attitude and as I was holding him, he marked me - that's right, he peed (sp?) all over me. Instead of being horrified, I excitedly exclaimed "Oh Steve, we HAVE to buy him, he marked me as his momma!" And so we bought that little contraband puppy. My first dog.

We had Mr. Mo for almost 15 years and he traveled more miles than many humans. He rode with us to and from AZ & MT; moved with us to VA, then to NC, and rode to and from NC & MT. During those years he was with me more than Steve was due to deployments. And when I had my surgery, Mr. Mo was by my side, seeming to sense that I wasn't doing well, physically or emotionally. He would just curl up next to me and sit. And when my grandma died, there he was again. Always with me, always dependable, always my friend.

On a Friday two months after Steve left for Iraq and about an hour after I returned from a business trip, poor little Gizmo had a stroke. I held him in my lap, crying the entire way as my sister drove us to the vet. His eyes were so sad. The vet gave us medicine and said we could see how he did over the weekend. He didn't fare well and I was grateful to be able to talk to Steve so we could decide together what to do. I didn't want to put him down but he had suffered so much that weekend.

On Monday morning I wrapped him in a t-shirt belonging to Steve and my brother drove us back to the vet and stood in the office with me as I said my final goodbye to my faithful old friend. I held him as he received that final shot and within seconds he was gone. I wept profusely not realizing how much I had grown attached to that little dude until that moment. Of course missing Steve didn't help and desperately wanting him to be able to say goodbye didn't help either. But it had to be done.

I miss my dog-friend to this day. He's on my mind because Steve and I have been talking about getting "Gizmo's chair" re-upholstered. It's a great chair -- really comfortable -- and he claimed it right after we bought it.

So, thanks for the years of faithfulness and companionship Mr. Mo. A one-in-a-million dog, that's certain.

(The picture was taken the Sunday before we put him down.)