It's been 28 days since Champy has been gone and I haven't been the same since.
Here's how he came to be so special to all of us.
It was July of 2002... Celeste had gotten him for Alyssa because she just HAD TO HAVE a dog... like most 10 year olds. I will never forget the first day she brought him over to see us.
He was so little and thin... He wasn't eating very well and they were having a hard time getting him house trained. I wasn't working at the time, so we decided that I could get him house trained, then he could go home again. That was the day our home became his home. Jereme became his daddy and I became his mamma.
He was SO ornery when he was little. I didn't have a kitchen towel that wasn't chewed up and there was no such thing as safe paper towels. We had to keep the bathroom door closed because he had a fondness for toilet paper too. He was definitely a chewer. He found an old Kermit the Frog stuffed toy, and it became HIS KERMIT. We eventually had to take it away from him because the only thing left was some green felt with a few wiry legs attached. Now I would let him chew on the towels. They can always be replaced.
Bedtime was always such a treat, too. We tried to put him in the kennel to sleep but he would just cry and whine constantly, to the point we would finally cave and let him out to sleep with us. He always mistook bed time for time to play. He used to bite and try to wrestle. He used to lay on our pillows, right between our heads and chew on my hair. He was so naughty. Now I wish he was laying in bed with me, hogging all my space.
He was always a cuddler... It started when he was little, and continued until he was a big boy. He thought he was small enough to sit on my lap. No matter where I would sit, he was forever trying to get up and sit on my lap. And I usually let him. And now, I would love to have him on my lap.
I have so many memories.. Like the time he ate 1/2 the toppings off the "perfect" Papa Murphy's take-n-bake pizza. Jereme was SO fricken' mad. Now, I would give him all the toppings, not just half of them, and I'm sure Jereme would too.
He always loved car rides. Going "bye-bye" always got him all wound up. He would run around the house like a child in severe need of ridalin! He loved going to see Gramma Corlie and Aunt Rosebud. He also loved going to see Grampa Ken... he knew there were always treats there... from pig noses to biscuits to yogurt drops and table scraps. Now, I wish I could take him for a ride and get wet dog-nose prints all over the inside of my windows.
Speaking of pig noses & table scraps.... They seemed to have the same effect on the dog that baked beans have on us. Yes, I am going there... Dog Farts. The boy could clear a room faster than you can snap your fingers. I am serious. Sometimes, you could hear them, so you knew what to expect... but sometimes..... SILENT BUT DEADLY. They were the kind that linger like a haze throughout the entire room, and sometimes the entire house. Now, I do not necessarily wish for dog farts, but I do wish for the hysterical laughter that normally followed them.
Then there was the humping. When he was younger, he had what we called "The Humpy Pillow." Yes, it was exactly what it sounds like.
I remember how heartbroken we were when we first discovered that he had wobbler's syndrome. It was early 2003. At that time, Dr. Benson told us that he would most likely not live a long life, but he assured us that we were the right people to make sure the life he did have was one well lived. And that is just what we did. We spoiled him ROTTEN... He loved cookies from PetCo, and even a dish of ice cream whenever we had it. Now, I would let him have 3 cookies at bedtime and 2 scoops of ice cream.
I remember when we brought Scrubby, cat #1 home. He was really unsure of what the hell the cat even was, they eventually grew to be great friends. After Shadow, cat #2 came, it got real crazy. It was twice as many cat turds to eat out of the cat box if he ever got the chance to be close enough to it.
Here's a little cat story for you.. I had noticed a little sore on Champ's chest but I didn't really think anything of it.. it seemed like a small scratch to us. Then one morning, I was putting on my shoes to go to work when it broke open... it was a HUGE abscess that drained itself all over the off-white carpet. Not knowing what to do, it was off to see Dr. Benson again. Turns out that he had to have some little doggie surgery to have the abscess debrided, which means they had to surgically remove the abscess cavity and the surrounding tissue that was dead. He had about a 10-12 inch scar. We had to buy shirts for him to wear so he would stop licking at it, per Dr's orders. I know you are thinking this was supposed to be a cat story...well it is. The abscess was caused by a bite from a cat. One of ours, I'm sure. There's the cat part of the story. We also had runs to the vet on other occasions for toenails that got ripped off.
When Jereme and I split, I couldn't sleep because I didn't have a dog laying across my legs, hogging all the room. It was SO hard for me. I used to go by just to see him. I even made a trip or 2 back from Des Moines to see him. He was always so excited to see me.. or to see any visitors for that matter. Now, I wish he was there wiggling when he saw me.
He was a very special dog. The wobbler's syndrome made him wiggle and wag. If you ever met him, you know exactly what I am talking about. The wag just seemed to fit his happy-go-lucky personality. He could make me feel better when I felt bad, he could make me happy when I felt sad. He did this for EVERYONE -- and THAT is what made him special.
I think of him everyday, and I miss him. I will always remember him and I will always love him.
He really was the pick of the litter.
