Spot Q went to the big fire hydrant in the sky today. She succumbs to the long battle of being a dog. Spot is preceded in death by every dog she knew. Mainly due to the fact she lived ten years beyond her life expectancy. In passing she is survived by her pack, alpha dog Carolyn, two runts (Ashley/Drew) along with one tall guy who slept with the alpha dog, which she mercilessly tried to kill for the past 17 years.
Spot came to be part of the family as a six week old puppy in March of 1994 when her owner, the tall guy’s mother in law, couldn’t stand her anymore. Spots inability to ask to go outdoors to relieve herself and her relentless pursuit of food, were the turning points in the family acquiring her. My mother in law always said, leave the grand kids with me and I will feed them sugar and send them home with a puppy. Damn it if she didn’t mean it.
Spot leaves her pack with a full list of accomplishments:
Turning several homes, in several locations, into her private indoor bathroom. Finding areas of the house to pee in that are unreachable by any human or cleaning device.
Begging at the dinner table. A skill she had honed into an art form. She was so ardent at begging several politicos ask for videos of Spot at work to be used as training films for prospective political candidates.
Spot also processed a keen sense of danger, warning the family of the deadly perils of the Postman, UPS driver, Girl Scouts, two minor children, and a yellow plastic bag tied and flapping in the wind on the front door of the house.
The bag was the premiere achievement of Spot’s attentiveness. She was able, due to non stop barking, for an entire work day, to keep the bag at bay and not gain entrance to the house to kill anyone. Exhausted after a day of fighting off the wind slapped bag Spot ate her dinner, begged for more food at the dinner table and slept for three days. Resting in her crowning glory with a full stomach.
During Spot’s entire lifetime not one signal delivery man, squirrel, or Jehovah Witness, did any harm to anyone in the house. Way to go Spot.
Religious fervor, even though she professed of no religious affiliation, as mentioned before her influence at the dinner table led many to pray out. “For the love of GOD”! As she relentlessly pursued what ever we were eating. Relentlessly pursued!
“Be the doggie” a phrase coined to celebrate Spot’s determination and one mindedness on her goal. Annoyance for food.
Spot’s talents did not stop at just mere annoyance, oh no. She was an accomplish sleeper, barker at nothing, walking under foot, bed hog, face licker, trying to trip the tall guy as he was going down stairs, and finder of poop in the yard to roll in. Of particular note was Spot’s ability to pick up a tennis ball and drop it in front of the lawn mower, as the tall guy was cutting the yard. Thus bringing to a stop, many times, an arduous task made even more so by her talents. She also was accomplished at chasing down ping pong balls, tennis balls, horse shoes, and during one festive occasion lawn darts, along with shedding
Spot was also a notorious wanderer liking to walk in the middle of the road pretending not to hear the approaching cars. Skills that caused the alpha and runts of her pack to scream hysterically as the tall guy was placing his bets on the car. Spot won out every time.
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Her retirement years were spent sleeping, eating, peeing under furniture, barking and producing an odor that could make a grown man dry heave. She went peacefully today surrounded by family and a dirty old T shirt. Her last words were a growl at the tall guy, a lament I am sure to acknowledge that she had failed miserably to kill him before she went.
She will be surly missed. We can only hope that someday we will become half the person Spot thought we were. She was a good doggie.