Shampooh Forever
A Tribute To A Best Friend
A year ago….almost…my beloved dog Shampooh passed away on January 13, 2013. After nearly 14 years it was time to say goodbye. Every day we struggled. Each of us knowing the inevitable is near, holding on for every moment we can together.
I’ll never know a spirit like her again. There will never be another Shampooh. She was always a fiesty bitch. I still recall taking her home and her refusal to walk on anything that was not carpet or grass, she was but three months old. This led to me insisting she will lead a very good life, but that spoiling her to that degree was not going to happen. She insisted otherwise, I ended up dragging her across concrete, tile and linoleum for months. Ultimately, we compromised. Until then, she just simply refused to walk on anything but carpet and grass. That is the feisty self respect she embodied, a fierce and loyal soul inside of the deceivingly cute and cuddly facade of a Pekingese. She ultimately taught me so much about the self and respect. Respect matters. It starts with you. You just decide what BS to tolerate and what BS is just simply not worth it. BS and unnecessary drama is simply ignored and avoided, solutions found on fairness and pragmatism.
Saying goodbye was…nearly impossible. Late stage heart failure is a Hell of a thing. It was mandated that she be medicated every 12 hours. It was required that she was looked after; to see if she needed heavy duty pain medication around the clock. It was mandated that she not be stressed due to her collapsing trachea. She wasn’t the calmest sprit. I dedicated two years of my life to make sure she was taken care of, around the clock, cooking each of us meals that were healthy and only attending things she could also attend— to the bitter end.
And it was bitter. Did I want my most trusted confidante, a rock in my life, my other species daughter and an endless inspiration to spit fire always, to die? No. Never. Especially in the bits and pieces she ultimately did.
Still never.
And yet, some things you can’t cheat in life, like death and taxes. I can’t tell you how hard it was to let go. I think…it’s almost been a year now of denial and acceptance in spades and yet I can’t. In some ways this is how it’s supposed to be — love will always linger and be. The love and memories are timeless, they exist, even if you you’re no longer around each other. In fact this is the point, I think of life and love. The challenge is to not get sad about missing them. The love is real, present and ever lasting.
I can always remember when I have a moment of weakness, the dog who knew me all of my twenties and understood me better than most beings that used to look me in the eye and make me level with her — on the real. She taught me to trust my instincts and never settle for less.
There is an unspoken basic honest real connection with our pets. My beloved dog knew me better than any person. I know that. She knew it. We did.
No contest. After a year of drafting so many posts about her, this is it. I cannot thank Shampooh enough for having filled my life with so much joy, so many complications (let’s face it, a dog that bites a lot of folks and dogs in her life is high maintenance), so many memories, so much love — I sometimes feel numb to anything remotely less intense.
I’ll always cherish every second together Shampooh. You are always with me. I can see you giving me that stern look to be better, strong and have courage, almost every day; I hope to never let you down. I cannot ever thank you enough. I miss you. Every day. Mom…thinks of you always. Thank you for every second.
And further, so many thanks to so many friends, family (most especially my mom, sister and Elias) and loved ones who loved her as well and were there for us, especially when things got very tough at the end of her life. Your thoughtfulness and support will never be forgotten.
