Molly

I’ve been thinking about Molly a lot lately.

Not surprising since it’s only been just over a month since we said goodbye to her.

A few months short of 15 years, Molly had a stroke. We got her to the vet for an emergency appointment and then tried to stabilize her overnight. It was an awful night and the next day, after many tears and cuddles and goodbyes from the other dogs, we euthanized her and buried her next to Jack, her best buddy.

Molly, a.k.a. Moomers, Moo, Molly-Moo, lived a hell of a life. And she lived it right up until that stroke. She was still running around, playing with the other dogs, sneaking off to places she shouldn’t be, and eating everything in sight. Just days before the end she was still demanding that I throw snowballs for her to catch.

Back when Jack was our only dog, we decided he needed a friend. I had a Kijiji habit at the time and it wasn’t long before I saw an ad for a border collie/german shepherd. She was six months old and needed a home. Her current owner had rescued her from a bad situation, but she was a single mom with two kids and struggling to make ends meet. I messaged her about wanting to meet this pup and was told she was spoken for.

Time to keep looking.

But the next morning I got a message telling me those people never showed up and asking if I was still interested. Could I be there before three?

I told my boss I was leaving early.

That’s how I ended up in a parking lot, meeting a nervous dog who clearly loved her mom and didn’t really want to go with the stranger. I was conflicted about that, but knew we could give her a good life.

Her name was Molly, though they had recently tried changing it to Dakota. She answered to Molly and it suited her sweet face, plus Jack and Molly just sounded cute together, so that name stuck.

She also looked nothing like either breed she was purported to be. We eventually settled on telling people she was a setter cross, since she looked so similar to Darrell’s grandmother’s dog.

When Molly met Jack, it was love at first sight. Why she immediately fell in love with a dog who was freshly skunk sprayed is beyond me. But she did. She played with him and then before I knew it they were curled up on the floor together. She refused to eat the bag of food that had been sent with her. What Jack was eating was what she wanted.

It’s kind of surprising given how unpicky she was about everything else she ate over the years. I once got a call after work telling me to pick up fish food on the way home because Molly had gotten into the cabinet and eaten all of it.

Dead animals, poop, garbage, compost, nothing was off limits. She enjoyed it all

Over the years Molly was the dog we could trust with anyone. Our Aussies? Not a chance. They don’t like strangers. Molly loved everyone, especially kids. She once tried to walk off with a family at a dog park. She wouldn’t have done it when she realized Jack wasn’t with her, but she really loved people.

In the last few years we always drew attention at campgrounds walking around with our three dogs. People would come up and ask to pet them and we’d tell them “just the black dog, she’d love it.”

Her belches were famous. Molly always had foul breath, but those big belches after eating who knows what were really something. They made me gag so many times and I’m laughing as I type this, just remembering how awful they were.

In her younger years, Molly had a penchant for jumping out of the boat. If it was hot, she was jumping out and going for a swim. It drove me nuts. As she got older she slowed down on that, but she’d go swimming every chance she could.

With that black fur she really hated the heat. She loved snow. I mean, LOVED it. It could be May and there’d be one little patch of snow under a cedar tree and that’s where you’d find her.

We learned to keep a kiddy pool filled with water to stop her from running across the road and playing in the creek.

We had to be creative over the years thanks to her. There was a time when Darrell had to sleep with her leash tied to his ankle in the tent. If he didn’t, she’d find a way to open the zipper and head out for a walk. Jack would never follow. That would put him too far away from Darrell.

Molly loved hikes and must have been part of a dog sled time in a past life. We never did figure out how to stop her from pulling. We just walked faster, and then she walked faster. She liked to feel some weight behind her, apparently. Molly was always the pace-setter and we knew she was feeling her age the day she walked calmly beside Erza, not pulling ahead.

Every year at Christmas I am reminded of the year I was foolish enough to put her presents in a bag under the tree. I found her walking through the kitchen with one of her brand new toys, happy as could be. I figured I must have left it out somewhere and went to put it in the bag, UNDER the tissue paper. A few minutes later she was walking around with another new toy. That’s when I knew she’d figured it out.

Darrell and I have had four dogs over the years. Molly is the only one who enjoyed toys. While she liked tearing them apart as much as the next dog, her favourite thing to do was play tug-of-war. She’d lock her mouth on that toy and wait for me to drag her around. Fetch was second favourite and she never knew when to quit. She’d be panting and clearly in need of a break, begging us to throw it again.

Molly made a lot of noise wherever she went. Panting, licking, clomping around. She’d bark and play and growl. The panting got especially loud in the last couple of years.

The house is so damn quiet without her.

She left one hell of a big hole.

We always know that we’re setting ourselves up for heartbreak when a new animal joins the family. But I’ll take that heartbreak for all the the love we get in the time we have with them.

I miss my Molly-Moo.