Remember that part of a dog’s purpose on earth is to show us that full 100% love is real and around us all the time.
— Jeff Burwell
We had to say goodbye to Posey much sooner than we expected due to cancer. While knowing that cancer and dogs are not exactly strangers, it doesn’t help the heart understand. All the memories in the world can’t overcome the intense and immediate sadness of loss. This is where we are today. We know it will subside and the memories will remain. But right now, it sucks.
It was June 16, 2018 when we brought Posey home. We were “between dogs” and Kat had been thinking about adopting. We did a trip to the Butte Humane Society to see if there were any dogs that fit our needs and there weren’t at the time. But that day in June we visited a pop-up (well, it was a big trailer) dog adoption event. Kat was invited into the trailer to see the puppies and she came out holding a sedated puppy that had just been spayed. I knew she was coming home with us that very moment.
When the sedation wore off we saw that Posey was actually very energetic. Of course she was, she was a puppy! She had her favorite toys, plus an odd affinity for duck-shaped things. She had her favorite places to hide, specifically under our couch until she couldn’t fit any more. She was a little monster at times and we even found a special collar tag that said exactly that.
Kat did all the training, as always, but sometime in 2021 I took on the weekend hikes in Upper Bidwell Park where she could roam off leash. We hiked almost every Sunday and she loved it. Sunday mornings, as I was getting ready she would bounce around and generally give the impression that I was moving entirely too slow and I should really get into high gear so she could hit the trail. If you’re not familiar with Upper Park, it’s nature. There are people and other dogs and mountain bikers, but there are also rabbits, deer, snakes, and coyotes.
One day we’re hiking along and a deer goes bounding across the trail about 20 yards in front of us and Posey was off to the races. I lost her for a good 10 minutes. I did not enjoy those ten terrifying minutes of having no idea where she was because we were a hiking team and I had lost my teammate. I was sick with fear, calling Kat and trying to explain what had happened. Then she just popped out onto the tail, ready to resume our hike. When we got home I purchased a Fi GPS collar for her. A little monster indeed.
Posey had many other hobbies. She tried Barn Hunt, where she had to find rats in a barn. Don’t worry, the rats are safe from the dogs. She competed in AKC Scent Work. She was working on agility, but it wasn’t always her favorite thing to do. Sometimes in the middle of a run she would just wander over to say hello to people watching. “Hi there, how you doing? Do you have treats?” The ability to just stop made her a complicated dog for training. That’s why I stuck with the hikes, there wasn’t much stopping and a whole lot of “we gotta go!”
My favorite nickname was “munchkin”. I don’t know why. There was also, of course Princess, as she did whatever she wanted. Of the dogs that we’ve had, I had the closest connection with her. Maybe it was the hikes. Maybe it was because when I got up early to go running she would get on the bed and sleep on my pillow. It doesn’t really matter, but she was my dog in a way that I hadn’t experienced with Tovn or Bash, who I loved deeply.
We miss you, Munchkin and you will never be forgotten.
PS - Maybe someday I’ll add the story about when Posey and I went wine tasting.
