Post Noel, Post Noelle

This is a difficult post for me, and that is why it is so long in the writing, too.  I wanted to do more, to do better, to do justice, but I can’t, so I must just do.  On November 14, 2012, I lost my Noelle.  To say I lost my dog, tragic as that sounds, minimizes it.  Noelle was  . . . different.  She was my heart, my soulmate, and a huge, huge part of my life.  There will never be another dog like Noelle, because she was not like any dog.  For the last seven years, she was at my side always.  And I do mean ALWAYS.  She rode shotgun during the 120 mile roundtrip drive to my office every day.  She went on every vacation or trip I took for the past seven years.  I didn’t go to the grocery store without her.  During the seven years we were together, I left her with a sitter one weekend in January 2011 when I flew to Washington DC.  The other 2,553 days we were together.

I met Noelle in 2005 when I was Director at the Humane Society.  She was a stray, and she was sitting so pretty and proper in the giant kennel at the shelter.  I walked by her several times, trying not to look at her too closely.  I love fluffy white spitz-looking dogs, and I didn’t want another dog, so I tried to ignore the cute fluffy white spitz-looking dog with the big liquid eyes.  One of our benefactors called me and wanted a Pomeranian for a friend.  I told her about Noelle.  She was interested, but wanted a complete vet-check before she told her friend.  I volunteered to take Noelle to the doctor.  She got a clean bill of health, but after spending that time with her, I didn’t want to put her back in the kennel, so a put a big thick comforter on the floor in my office and told her she could stay there with me until she was adopted.  The benefactor’s friend decided on a golden retriever instead, and I was secretly happy, because I had completely fallen for the little white Pomeranian in my office.  I took her home with me, and that was that.  No more shelter life for Noelle.

I hadn’t had her for more than a few months when I noticed a vibrating humming sound that came from her chest.  A trip to the vet confirmed a severe heart murmur, graded a 6 on a scale of 1 – 6.  Bad.  I was told she would likely only live for a couple of months.  Afraid we only had a short time together, I vowed to take her everywhere with me so we could maximize our time together.  Seven years later we were still maximizing our time together!

In addition to her heart murmur, Noelle also had very bad knees, so walking was difficult on her joints as well as her heart.  I never expected her to do anything at Dog Scout Camp the summer of 2006 when we went to Michigan.  But Noelle’s desire to work for food surprised me, and she quickly earned her DSA certification, and then the badges began piling up.  I had to choose badges that didn’t require much walking, but eventually she ran out of room on her tiny DSA vest because she had earned so many badges.  I still haven’t sewn on her last badge, because there is no more space.

She easily earned her Therapy Dog International certification, and became a wonderful therapy dog.  She has visited many nursing homes and hospitals; she was always the perfect comfort to the elderly and sick.  Her work in these places is something I’m very proud of.

When Gina and I drove to South Carolina to adopt Lottie Moon, Noelle was with us.  Lottie was always very gentle around Noelle, and I was so grateful to Lottie for that.  My other dogs would sometimes trample over little Noelle, I always had to guard her from their crazy bursts of speed and excitement.  Yet my little blind Lottie was always careful to notice Noelle and step around her.  Every morning we would all go outside together for the bathroom break, and Lottie would come up every morning and waggle her butt and sniff a Good Morning greeting to Noelle. 

Since Noelle passed away, Lottie has been very anxious.  She is hyper and will not settle down.  She misses Noelle’s calming presence, as do I.  We will go on, but we will never forget her.