Monday, April 14, 2008

Remembering past dogs

Dumpling (poodle) & Tiny or Einstein (Yorkie) posing in the top photo. The middle photo is of Einstein, still in Pullman. He is probably 9 or 10 weeks old. The last photo is of Tiny in my parents ivy. You can barely see his face sticking out. Too cute! Click on the photos to see them close up.
Today would have been Dumpling's 28th birthday. Dumpling was our poodle from way back when. We got him when I was in the 5th grade. When I was in the 4th grade, I was bitten by our neighbor's white German Shepherd. I used to love dogs, but this bite made me very afraid of them. My parents did the dog version of "if you fall off a horse, get right back on it." They bought my sisters and I a dog. Our other dog, Fletcher ( a Scottie), had died a year earlier. When we first got Dumpling, I was really scared of him. I remember being afraid he was going to bite me like Simba had. It took a while for me to overcome my fear, and then Dumpling and I were sharing popsicles and ice cream.



Omid loved Dumpling too. The very first time Omid came to Olympia to visit me over summer break, he came into the house and Dumpling was lying on the stairs with his left leg crossed over his right. He just stared at Omid. Omid said, "is he friendly?" I said, "yes he is! C'mon Dumpling!" Dumpling ran down the stairs and greeted Omid. About 6 months after this meeting, Omid surprised me with a Yorkie! This was the perfect gift...except for that I lived in the dorm. Einstein lived at WSU for about 10 weeks until he was discovered and I got into trouble for having a dog. So, Einstein had to move to Olympia and live with Dumpling and my parents. My parents loved Tiny (as he came to be known). Tiny lived for 17 years. Dumpling, sadly, only lived for 14.5 years.



When I was pregnant with Naseem, my sister Brenda called us in Pullman and told us that Dumpling had wandered away. He was blind, deaf & missing. I was so sad. Omid drove me from Pullman to Olympia (a 6 hour drive). We spent all morning looking for Dumpling. No luck! After searching all day, we had to drive back to Pullman as Omid had an exam the next day. Dumpling was found after two days. He wandered back into the neighborhood on his own. A neighbor called my sister and told her that he 'thought' he saw our dog. B ran down the cul-de-sac and found Dumpling. She immediatley picked him up and he was so disoriented. Poor Baby! My parents took him to the vet and the vet said he was in good shape. Sadly, it was not to last. Dumpling died about a month later. :( He was such a good boy. Einstein refused to even walk near the section of the yard he was buried in for over 6 months. Remy met Einstein only one time before he had to be put down. Remy was really afraid of this teeny 4 pound dog. So cute!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I miss him :/