This weekend started with great excitment, a trip up to Garibaldi for R & R, but took a hard turn when our sweet border collie/golden retriever/comedienne Dozer apparently had a series of strokes that took her from us late Friday night. We drove up to our cute little motel (The Harborview Inn) expecting to read books and drink wine and take walks with The Doze and go crabbing, but that wasn't how it turned out.
On the way up, bopping to records by John Doe and Joe Strummer and David Kilgour and Dinosaur Jr, enjoying our little road trip with a bag of Fritos, Dozer was not feelin' it, and by late that night she was gone. Shocking and so sad. I was glad to be right there for all of it.
We drove the coastline back yesterday and felt that Dozer would appreciate a couple of stops: one at the Side Door Cafe in Glenaden Beach (fantastic, even in tears), and an obligatory stop at BJ's in Old Town Florence for coconut crunch and oregon trail ice cream. It's weird when you have a family member temporarily interred in the back of the Suburu, but Dozer would be the last to deprive us of good eats during a difficult time.
Our friends have been so kind, and while I was ready to sink under the weight of a lead suit, pole-axed by sadness, I ended up sharing the news on Facebook. Calls and visit from friends, gifts from Divine Cupcake--we're really lucky. The prosperity and abundance we are lucky to enjoy just took a different form this weekend, albeit in a house full of bittersweet tricks of the eye and ear--the sounds and sights of Dozer triggered and echod by various things. What a good, good dog.
Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.
Pablo Neruda
