Sunday, November 27, 2011

65 Things I Will Remember About Lola

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  1. The way she would flop to the ground and sigh heavily when she laid down on the hardwood floor.
  2. The squeaking noises she made when James came home every night - and the way she stood up on the counter to see his car through the kitchen window.
  3. All her little snorty sounds.
  4. The sound of her beating on the dog door, trying to get in.
  5. The sound of her working the dog run gate back and forth trying to get it open.
  6. That terrible, braying bark.
  7. The snuffling sound of her hoovering the kitchen floor for tidbits.
  8. The way she crossed her paws daintily when she laid down.
  9. Her lady-like, soulful brown eyes.
  10. Her refusal to come until promised a treat or a meal.
  11. Her spinning happy dance as you set the bowl down at feeding time.
  12. The sound of her tags hitting the bowls and her knocking the food bowls around on the tile as she licked them both clean hours after feeding time.
  13. The way she would slide her nose under your arm if you hung it over the side of a chair, then walk your hand out to the point where she wanted to be scratched.
  14. Her licking. Always with the licking.
  15. The way she would lean full force into you with her rear and look over her shoulder pleading for a butt scritch.
  16. The way she would lean back into your hand with all her might if you pushed on her.
  17. Her terrible fishy breath.
  18. Her soft, floppy ears.
  19. The way she always beat me to the garden gate.
  20. The way she jumped back in bed with me when I would sleep in.
  21. The pawing when she got impatient while begging for food.
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  23. The way she used to lay on the back patio and watch the birds.  
  24. The bowing, barking and romping as we got ready to go for a walk.
  25. The jumping. Always with the jumping.
  26. The way she never seemed to sleep at night. 
  27. The way she would start pawing at the gate at regular intervals at dawn.
  28. The spinning happy dance she would do when you came to get her in the morning.
  29. The way she would paw impatiently at the door on the way out for a walk.
  30. The way she and Bart (our other dog) nibbled each other constantly.
  31. The way she would come and lay next to you on the sofa or in bed and just gaze up at you adoringly.
  32. The way she would sneak over to Bart’s bowl and speed-eat any leftover food, hoping she could get it all down before we took it away.
  33. The way she always insisted on walking right next to me on my right side on walks.
  34. The way she adored Bart and would not let him out of her sight – even sitting next to the pen when he was locked up at doggie day care.
  35. The way she liked to be kissed right between her eyebrows.
  36. Her snuffling sighs.
  37. Her farts. Yes, even those were charming.
  38. Her ridiculous crotch licking.
  39. The way she and Bart would spoon on the couch.  
  40. The way she liked to have her blanket pulled out to lay on at night.
  41. The way she would almost take your finger off if you gave her a treat she really liked, but if you scolded her, she’d take the next one nicely.
  42. The pig-like snorting as she took a treat or bite of food from your hand.
  43. Bart and Lola 030
  44. The way she sat for treats on day one.
  45. The way she would jam her nose into your armpit at the breakfast table to beg for bacon.
  46. All the times we caught her up on the counter (or just heard her paws hit the floor.)
  47. The distinctive sound of her walk – created by her always too-long nails and ambling gait.
  48. The way she would try to stealth lick babies from behind, even though she was afraid of them.
  49. Her one pink toe.
  50. Her soft pink belly.
  51. Her long "handsy" paws.
  52. Her little peanut head. 
  53. The way she hated it at first when I blew raspberries on her stomach, but eventually learned to tolerate it.
  54. Her pretty girl silhouette with her long eyelashes.
  55. The rolls she would get behind her collar when she got too fat.
  56. The way her fur was always shiny, even though she had terrible dandruff.
  57. The way she would lay on the middle of the sofa, in the pillows, until she heard me coming and would then slink off.
  58. The sound of her slinking off the sofa, one back leg at a time.
  59. The way she backed up onto the sofa to turn around near the coffee table.
  60. Her Disneyland bear-cave snoring. 
  61. The sound of her pawing at the door to the garage when I came home.
  62. The way she would run circles around it if I came home in James' car, because she thought he was supposed to be in there.
  63. The long period of time when she absolutely refused to get in the car.  
  64. The way her little tail stub twitched back and forth constantly.
  65. The way she would startle if you gave her a little puff of air - the only disciplinary tool that worked.
  66. The way she would scrounge up every last bit of food on the floor and jump up on the counter to snatch the little stray bits at feeding time.
  67. The way she always smelled good, no matter how dirty she was.
RIP sweet girl.  We miss you like crazy.

19 comments:

  1. I cannot fathom being able to put this down so soon. She was clearly a loved girl who knew her place in her family. My heart breaks for all three of you as you learn your new normal in her absence.

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  2. Sending the Robertson family so much love..... :-(

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  3. You have been so much on my mind these past few days. Lolli keeps wondering why I'm holding her so tightly and tearing up so often. I did not know Lola, but I know how you love her, and my heart just aches for you. Thank you for sharing your tribute to her - it's so moving, and reminds me that we should treasure the little everyday moments that make life with our dogs so wonderful. I love you guys. Love, Tracy

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  4. LOVE this post! It's a great tribute!

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  5. This is beautiful. Lola was a lucky girl. Oh boy, here comes the waterworks.

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  6. she was so sweet and a little noisy according to your list;) she will be missed. it's so hard losing a member of your family.

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  7. Noel - it was easier than you might think. She was a very active girl. :)

    Jora - xoxox. The kids were a great distraction yesterday. :)

    Denise - Thanks!! xox

    Rorie - I like to think so. :)

    Desi - yes, the silence is deafening around here. We miss all of her little noises, even the barking. :)

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  8. Alice, again, so very sorry for your loss. It is making me appreciate, again, our Buddy Girl after almost losing her. This is a lovely tribute. Know that you have many, many friends who truly understand the loss.

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  9. I'm so, so sorry, Alice. She sounds like she was a wonderful member of the family and was incredibly loved.

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  10. I was so sorry to read about Lola's passing on FB. :( I know she was your girl. xo

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  11. My condolences to you and your family. Funny how even the annoying things become endearing. True of people, but especially dogs.

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  12. My sincere condolences to your whole family. Unfortunately I have felt the same pain not too long ago and your kind words bring me many tears. What a great life she had. Thank you for sharing your memories of her.

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  13. Alice, I don't really know you, and never met your dogs, but this was so touching and true. She was so loved. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Alice,
    My heart goes out to you. We lost our girl suddenly two years ago and we miss her terribly. I too try to only remember the wonderful things about her and not dwell on the loss. I love that you made such a celebratory and loving tribute.

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  15. Oh Alice, thank you so much for stopping by my blog. This is the exact blog post I tried to write for my Lola over and over again, but didn't have the heart to.

    I am sitting here crying and laughing at the same time. More than half of these could have been attributed to my Lola (that's where I'm crying) and the other half are so funny that I can't help but laugh through my tears. Like this one: "The way she would slide her nose under your arm if you hung it over the side of a chair, then walk your hand out to the point where she wanted to be scratched." That's too damn funny.

    In fact, me and my husband spent days after Lola's death just having whole conversations that went "The way she....""and the way she...." so much so that for that really hard period, this song was in my head constantly. So here I am going to dedicate it to both of our Lola's. If your Lola gave you even a fraction of the love that mine gave me (and I am sure she did) then I think we can count ourselves very very lucky.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExmoiGZuiFQ

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  16. PS- I think you're very strong to write about her so soon. That must have been one tearful blogging session. It took me 5 months to gather the strength to do it, and I couldn't blog about anything else until then.

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  17. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. My girl is getting up there in years and your list brought both tears to my eyes and smiles to my face (not to mention laughs out loud). It also reminded me of a favorite sports writer of mine who wrote this article http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090122, one I read on occassion when I need to be reminded how much my Sierra means to our family.

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  18. I don't know you Alice but I've been a reader of your wonderful blog for years and how sad it was to hear of your loss; Lola sounded like quite a character and I'm sure she is missed greatly by many. What a fantastic tribute this was!

    PS. That photo of her as a puppy should be a poster, too adorable with the tongue and big kind eyes...

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  19. This post made me cry :'( I love my dog, Daisy, so much that I'm afraid to even think of ever losing her.
    Lola sounds like a perfect friend. RIP Lola

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