Missing My Furry Friend

Oh my Arby-Q. Even though you had been banished to the outside for your love of chewing everything in sight, I still loved to come say hi to you and greet you with an "Oh,Arby-Q". Since you were little, that was my nickname for you. You made it past your 11th birthday and although I knew this day would come, I wasn't expecting it this soon. You were a sweet, gentle dog with kids and people and you were the reason Kenzie finally started being ok with dogs. You would sit there so nice and just let her pet your head. As my dad, Tim and the kids all helped to dig your grave and bury you, we brought up the highlights of your life. As a little back story, we were driving down Plainfield and passed the Arby's restaurant and Tim said "If we get a dog, we should name them Arby." So that's where your name started. (I find it interesting that you died at the hospital just near that same Arby's restaurant...the beginning and the end.)

We adopted you when you were 4 months old. The previous family that adopted you brought you back because you chewed too much. We thought "He's a puppy. What do you expect?" They also advised us that they thought you might have some newfoundland in you and might grow to be very large. We didn't care. We both wanted you. We changed your name from Merlin to Arby and brought you home! I'm sure we have pictures somewhere where we dressed you up in a Spiderman dog costume for Halloween. You weren't a fan. You loved us so much that you had to be with us all the time. We used to take you for rides to Tim's parents' house where you would run all the time with Snoopy. You would be so tired from those trips- the only times we finally succeeded in draining your endless energy. While we were staying at my Grandma's old house, you would sleep under our bed, which was a really tight fit. I remember the first time you transitioned down there instead of sleeping on my feet or the one morning I woke up to with your head on Tim's pillow and staring me in the face. You would have to army craw your way across the linoleum floor to get out every morning and it made us laugh.

You managed to chew 1 shoe out of every single pair of shoes I owned. One day you chewed through the wall. Which is why you had to become an outdoor dog in our brand new house we were building. I used to bring you over to the site and you would run through the area, beg for food when we sat at the picnic table to eat our meals and, as my dad reminded me tonight- you'd run off with materials we were using (boxes of staples/nails, tubing, etc.) The best construction story was the day you ran in the front door and didn't realize there was a screen on the back door and ran right through the slider. You were so stunned- and just stood there after you ripped the screen right out!

You also liked to bring 2-liters of pop from the kitchen into the living room and would open them there. You created lots of messes for sure. Another story that we just were telling the kids last week was the time I went to take a shower and when I came back, I discovered you had gotten up on top of our dresser and got into the Sudafed. My brother came to check on you like the vet said around lunch time and you were soooo out of it. He had to push you outside and when he tried to urge you to go to the bathroom and gave you a little nudge, you fell right over. Thankfully, you were fine. It just had to run its course. Oh, yes....you thought you were a cat. You insisted on walking along the back of the couch even thought you were a big dog at this point. Lots of times you would lay on the back of the couch too and I was always amazed how you fit up there.

Shortly before we moved into the house, we thought you just needed a playmate and were pondering getting another dog. That's when a coworker asked me if I wanted who we know as Cody. The lady who found him already had 2 dogs and did everything to find his owner. So we brought your "brother" home and you 2 were instantly friends. You've been best friends for the last 10 years and I used to love watching you play together. He never told on you when you got loose and ran away, but you did your job and let us know different times when Cody went for a run. He misses you already. As soon as Tim took you to the hospital, I saw him laying there with his head between his paws...like he knew. And when we started digging the hole, he sat there ever so quietly- which is NOT like him at all. I could hear him whimpering when Tim went to go pet him after he got home tonight. Also, strangely enough, when Tim was at the hospital another dog that looked very similar to Arby came in and you'll never guess his name. Cody! Zander asked if we could go back and ask them if they would let us have him to replace you.

We buried you in the backyard and the kids have been thinking of different ways to make your resting place special. We loved you so much my furry friend and will miss you lots!Thanks for always watching out for us from the backyard.