Another Star in the Sky

Star hasn't been herself lately.  She never wants to inconvenience anyone, but she has been getting up in the night to go outside.  She politely taps the door with her paw, and once she goes out, she doesn't come back for awhile.  And she lost a bunch of weight.

While we were in New York, Coco and Bill were watching Star.  Star has always been such a good dog, but she has been wary of Coco and Bill since they took her to the vet to get some teeth pulled awhile back.  So when she went missing Sunday morning, they thought she was hiding, biding her time until the family got back.  But then she didn't come back Sunday night, and she never stays away that long.  They looked, but they couldn't find Star anywhere.

Monday morning, Coco called the pound and there was no sign of Star there either.  Tuesday, Tricia and Jim helped the kids hang up signs around the neighborhood before we took off for Zion's Wednesday.  Thursday, our next-door neighbor contacted Coco with the sad news that he had discovered Star's furry, grey body under a bush in his back yard.  He said she looked like she had been there resting in the shade when she died.  That makes me feel better, that she didn't wander around or suffer.  She probably waited until we were gone to die, just so she wouldn't bother anyone.  The dog I had as a kid, Reese, did the same thing.  My dad, bless his farm upbringing, took on the difficult task of burying Star in the patch of burrs she was so fond of getting into.

I'll miss Star, as pesky as she was.  Even though she followed me around relentlessly, she was the perfect dog.  She dutifully sat by Tziporah's crib when she napped, and slept in the hallway outside Ptolemy's door when he slept.  She took her job as our dog very seriously, and did it well.

We got Star when Golda turned eight because she had come up with a plan to trade Scott in for a dad who liked dogs.  That was when Scott gave the green light for a dog.  Smart man.  It was an exciting day when Star and her friend Deuce came to live with us.  Deuce didn't last long because he was naughty, but Star turned out to be the perfect dog.  After she went missing, I had some sandwich crusts and went to find Star, thinking what a treat the crusts would be for her.  It was a surprisingly bereft and lonely feeling when she wasn't there to gratefully gobble up those crusts.

Thanks, Star, for carrying out your duties so well.  Good dog, Star.  Good dog.