This past week Stevie turned one, and we move on from the period of house training, chew toys, and puppy food. Stevie was my first puppy, and I had real qualms about being able to do a good job of getting him to the one year mark. If you’ve read anything by Ian Dunbar, you’ll know that puppyhood is a time when one wrong experience or misstep can wreck your dog for life.
Fortunately, Stevie has made it through with flying colors. Sure, we still have a lot of things to work on. He has a bizarre obsession with chewing up plants. His downs and stays are atrocious. But generally, he’s a great dog. And now that he’s one, we’re in the terrain that I know. We can officially apply to come a therapy dog team, although we’re not there yet. I guess the point is that I’m breathing a sigh of relief that we made it this far and that we’ve done just fine.
Of course, one milestone makes me think of another. Next week it will have been four months since Boo passed away. A lot of things make me think of Boo. This past weekend we happened to be staying in the exact same cabin in Escalante that we stayed in with Boo last October. Last night I found his Snuggy in the back of a drawer.
It’s hard to know the best way to memorialize a dog. There are always people who will think you’re nuts for doing it all, but you can’t deny experiencing grief and wanting a way to express it.
A couple of months ago I came across a woman who makes pet stepping stones. I ordered one, and I’ve put it in a sunny corner of my yard where Boo used to sit and nap for hours on end.
I think it turned out quite well. I still haven’t figured out what to do with his ashes, but I smile every time I see his little stepping stone in the yard.
