You know that girl you went to school with? The girl who talked to everyone, used lots of words and enjoyed the company of others? Well, that is me! Having lost our gentle boy Leo yesterday, my words, like my tears are flowing. Please bear with me. Thank you.
To get a feel for Leo you have to see this photo. When I watched my great grandson Harrison James for the first two years of his life, Leo was, a very gentle giant. Now he had some motives too. He loved to lick this boys face! He never tried to steal his breakfast food but he licked that little face clean! As a boy, Harrison thought it was hilarious. Leo was a connoisseur of yogurt, vanilla, fruit flavored with some pulp, he loved it all! Harrison was glad to oblige him. They had a nice boy and a dog bond. Later he would try to lick Shea's face, Harrison's little sister! She would say No Leo, don't lick my face! The girl is 100 percent pure little chick! She is a fashionista, a diva, and dogs licking her face, well, that was not a good idea. Yet she loved Leo and always liked to open the back door so he could run in his kingdom, the backyard. Our lot is 7,480 feet and when he first came to live with us, Leo looked over the massive backyard and looked up as if to say, is this all mine? Of course it was! Leo was king of his yard! His friend Duke, a black lab stood at the fence this morning. He was barking, I am sure looking for his pal. They would rub noses at the fence and then lift their leg to each other. A sort of manly dog celebration!
I am very sad for Duke, just as I am sad for all of us. Most mornings, I would wake up and Leo was lying outside our bedroom door. He was not a loner by any means. When he first came to live with us, he tore up two decorative pillows we had purchased with our new living room set! He was very angry that we dared to go out and leave him home alone. That was before the other pups came to live here. He was a people person and I am going to miss stepping over him so he could rise and I would open that back door for him. He loved the great outdoors. He chased the wild rabbits, he barked at the squirrels and birds. Then he found companionship in three little pups, Loki, Thor and Lulu. On a whim, we stepped inside a puppy place. Rebekah and Zach fell in love with Loki and Thor and since they were brothers they went home with them. I was sad but the lady said her friend was dropping off a single pup. Same breeder but different litter. My girl Lulu with her mom Lil Lupe and dad Duffy! My little chihuahua girl with an Irish father and a mother with roots from Chihuahua, Mexico . Oh how Leo loved them! He became the guardian and protector of the pups and their yard! He kept them close at hand and if one wandered back by the fence he would go inside, turn around and go collect them. They loved him and loved running and barking alongside of him. As the years went by if the kids, who worked from home, were busy and I had errands to run, I turned on Tom and Jerry on the Cartoon Network. Although Leo had his puppy entourage, he liked to lie down on the living room carpet while Finn, Lulu's baby boy, kissed him and loved on him while they listened to the antics of Tom and Jerry.
This boy, my Lilo, he loved the holidays with all the excitement. The company, the delicious meals. He was so acclimated into our home and phamily that he was content and happy and always a joy to be around. He had the most beautiful amber colored eyes and his tail was wagging even at the end of his too short life.
He had a giant rawhide and as you can see here, he was very partial to it. He loved laying in the grass because when he first came to live with us we had none. Just a big dirt yard with lots of mud in the rainy and winter seasons. When we put in the lawn, he was like a little kid, rolling it and loving his time outdoors. A gentle boy, a kind heart toward the little pups and a fierce protector of his home, his yard, his pups and his people.
He's short life taught me, nothing is more important than phamily. He did not get to see old age and have that beautiful youthful face turn into a snowy white haired old gent. It is a sadness I feel in my bones but as sick as he got and as quickly as the pain took over his body, none of us wanted to see him suffer. He was well loved and he knew it. The artwork on the Rainbow Bridge Michael Godard. Run free and easy sweet boy. You were a good friend, a good dog, a good companion and the best protector any of us could ever know.
Isaiah 65:25 NIV
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
I pray I will see you on the other side someday Leo.
