We lost a valued friend at Printed Page Bookshop yesterday.
Izzy had been our shop dog since the day I adopted her in 2009. She came to us as a rescue from Arkansas. She was two years old and had already had a litter. She also had heartworm.
Who knows what’s in the background of a rescue? Izzy was wild, frustrating to train. She wanted to attack other dogs, particularly small yappy breeds. I considered relinquishing her to the rescue organization. But I didn’t.
Izzy gradually adjusted. She became devoted to me and didn’t let me out of her sight. Barb called her the Velcro dog. She was a friendly greeter to the visitors at the store. A nanny on walks would always look for our “Shopdog Inside” sign and bring three-year-old Natasha in so she could play with Izzy.
On Wednesday, I took her to the vet because the treatment I was giving her for incontinence was no longer working. The vet discovered a growth in her abdomen. I got the results of the tests Thursday. Saturday, I took Izzy into the store. She was lively, friendly, and normal.
Saturday afternoon, she went into decline. She died around five, with me near, in our library.
There is no pain like the loss of a dog, and this one was made worse by her unadulterated devotion to me.
I am honoring that devotion with my sorrow.