Tribute to my baby girl, Waggs.

Today I held one of my bestest friends of 17 years, and said good-bye!

Back in 1994 I was blessed with a new family member, best friend and protector.  Her name was Waggs.  I fell in love with her at a family friend’s cottage when she was just 2 weeks old – our family friend used to take care of dogs until they were old enough to be adopted.  I found out how much it would be to buy her from the humane society, so I worked hard washing cars and selling lemonade to save enough money to buy her, and I did!

She has been with me through elementary school, high school, university and adulthood.  When she was younger, she would bark with so much power that outsiders thought she was a big dog.  But Waggs was small, no more than 12 pounds.  She was an adorable yet interesting looking little mutt – a mix between schnauzer, poodle and fox terrier, with solid black hair and a stripe of white down her chest.  And although her hair turned to grey as she aged, strangers would still think that she was a puppy because of her energy and puppy-like looks (up until just a few months ago).

Waggs got her name for a reason (it has the double “g” because I was 10 when she was named and I couldn’t spell all that perfectly:S).  She got the name because she was ALWAYS wagging her tail – it acted like a mini air conditioner in the summer.  It was a powerful tail, and long enough to whip you if you weren’t too careful.  As a puppy she would think her tail was a toy (as most dog’s do), and she would chase it for hours – she would just be running in circles!

She had so many funny habits: circling around trying to gain momentum so that she could poop, again circling around before laying down in her bed, trying to make her many versions of beds as small as possible so that she could just lay on top of the mess, she would get her food from her bowl and then walk away to eat it in another location (always fun to clean up after her!), and she would also jump up to my waist every time I came home in hopes of jumping high enough to reach my face so that she could lick me…

#1 Fan

Back when I did Triathlons, Waggs would hang back with my family and cry for the whole duration of my race (which could have taken several hours).  She would not let up until I was finished racing and went to see her – at which point she would try to lick every ounce of sweat off of me.

Partner in Crime

As a little kid, I would naturally get into petty arguments with my parents, and one time I threatened to run away with Waggs.  I put her leash on, walked out the front door, and then walked with her around the neighborhood – simply to find myself returning back home only because Waggs needed food and waterJ.

She “nose” bad people

She also had an amazing sense of people.  When I was younger and lived in a townhouse complex, there was a man she couldn’t stand – she would bark and bark and bark at him, pulling hard on the leash to have at him.  She didn’t do that with anyone else, unless she had the same feeling towards them.  Soon enough we found that same man leaving the complex in handcuffs.  Waggs could smell a bad person from a mile away!

Consoling

A while ago my dad had a mild car accident that in the end put him in the hospital.  Since it was “mild” in his view, he thought nothing of it and didn’t go to the hospital to get checked.  However, for weeks after the accident, Waggs sensed that something was wrong with my dad.  She wouldn’t leave his side and lay with him constantly.  It was her way of trying to console him as his internal system struggled – soon after, he was rushed to hospital and treated.  

All in all, Waggs was just filled with SO much love.  Her and I were incredibly close, and although she’s physically gone she will still be with me forever.  17 years is a long time – it equals 119 years in dog years!  She lived a very good and happy life, while making everyone around her either love her or question their love at times (she may have peed in a couple of places where she shouldn’t have:S).

We did almost everything together and she has been with me through the most adventurous times of my life.

She is missed and will always be, but her energy, love and spirit will live on!

Love you Waggs and may you rest in peace in doggy heaven. xoxoxo