Dixie

Got some sad news today. Dixie, my cousin's dog whom I would dog-sit from time to time, has passed away from a tumor.

I always wanted a dog, but my folks, especially my dad, said no way. As much as I love Butterscotch, I'd have cats and dogs if I could. It's still on my bucket list to own a dog someday, even though it's not going to happen anytime soon. So, looking after Chris and Amber's dogs was the next best thing, and Dixie just had that way of growing on you despite her nutty antics.

She was a big girl, but thankfully her bark was worse than her bite...most of the time. She could never get enough treats (she and Chip would always steal from each other when I fed them Beggin' Bits), she would often beg at mealtime (so I made sure to fill her bowl first and eat my meals at the out-of-reach kitchen island), and she would even more often try to climb on top of me while I relaxed in a chair or couch and I had to keep pushing her to the floor. "Yeah, I love you, too, but you're much too big for a lap dog!"

Above all, she could never get enough petting. She'd go so far as to nudge old Chip out of the way, as if to say, "Why are you petting him? Pet me instead! Pet only me!" Sometimes I'd sit with her in the living room or kitchen and just give her loves all over, and every time I stopped, she shoved her big head under my palm and "made" me love her some more.

According to Amber, all of the animals came from abusive households, so that was why they soaked up all the love they could get.

At the very least, Dixie got to spend the rest of her life in a warm, safe, loving home, pampered and sheltered to the end.

I'll miss that lovable goofball.