MISS PIXIE
We had to say goodbye to our pal Pixie the day after the big storm last month. She was a real character and it’s going to take some time getting used to her absence. Back in 2014 Tracy thought it would be nice to get Pablo a cat friend so she dropped into the Dearborn Animal Clinic across from Astoria’s resale shop on Johnson Drive, Lulu’s. (Lulu’s is where Tracy met Astoria and got invited to a party in Troostwood, and that all led to us moving to the neighborhood.)
Dearborn had a few cats up for adoption but also this blind Maltese with bad breath and a cough. Someone had left her at the clinic and she had become the house dog. I remember an older vet there giving us the rundown and telling us “she’s a good dog!” with a weary, protesting, what-the-F-is-wrong-with-people-please-don’t-be-shallow-about-this tone, We agreed to “foster” her.
The fostering stage lasted about 45 seconds after she was out of the car, when we knew she was our dog forever. Then she rolled down the hill in front of our house and off the stone retaining wall. She shook that off like a WWF wrestler with a concussion, ready to stagger around and head butt life itself. She never rolled down that hill again--mapping her new world by collision. My brother Neal said we should have named her Bonk. “Sunny” was also in the running for names, because of her disposition.
Later that day we took her to the grounds of the Kauffman Foundation and she chased geese mostly by sound and that was fun until she chased them into the pond and Tracy had to pull her out by her tail. This was 100% Pixie--determined, always ready to go, kind of a grubby little dirtbag, always making us laugh and getting us on our feet. She was probably in the Marines at some point and if she had been a musician she would have played raunchy burlesque saxophone, smoking unfiltered Pall Malls between solos. Her decline took a long time but even with dementia she was ready to go do stuff. Our walks around the block got slower and slower and slower but slow walks are what Buddhists do to deal with all the bullsh*t so that’s ok. Thank you Pixie.
Everyone’s dog is one of a kind and that’s part of the magic of it all, but if there’s another dog remotely like Pixie out there, I’d like to meet her. And if you ever have a chance to adopt a dog with special needs just know that it’s a joy and not a burden at all. After all, we all have special needs and we’re all rescue dogs.
