Treat,
what a silly name for such a silly little girl. That was what she was, my
silly little girl. I really had no desire to get a dog that day. I had Dallas
and he had been such a dramatic part of my life for over 6 years. To even think
about getting another dog, well... it seemed a little disloyal to the dog
waiting eagerly for his mommy to come home that weekend. But, Tom was set. He
wanted one of the dogs. When we walked into the Wal-Mart that day, there were 2
dogs out there. A little scruffy, skinny blond one and then her brother.. he was
black and tan, full fur and just cute at first look. The brown one was being
adopted as we walked in, so when Tom told me he wanted a dog, all I thought
was... "All that is left is the smaller one." But, I asked the lady to
hold her, Tom was buying food and stuff for her. Thus, Tom now had a dog. We
stopped at the Hudson household to get a little extra stuff for the ride home:
Box, bedding... and Treat felt the need to relieve herself, much to the chagrin
of the Hudson Cats, in the backyard.
Well, we got in the car and I promptly placed her in the box and we set off
for the road. (3 minutes pass) I hear a whine that would break the heart of the
coldest person. I insisted we stop and get her some water for the ride home at
the gas station. 
I picked her up, carried her in my arms, and we went in search
of water. While in the store... everyone was just beside themselves looking at
the cute little cuddly thing in my arms. She clung to me for her life and
pressed her head to my shoulders. We got the water, she took a few drinks and I
am not sure how... ended up on my lap again. Her little body fit so perfectly
within the crook of my arm and she found it she positioned herself just right,
she could see out the window and watch stuff as we passed by. It was then that I
realized that just one look into those big brown eyes and your heart was hers,
because I lost mine. Every time we stopped, she made sure to make potty, even if
it was just a little bit. After every stop, she would curl herself back
into my arms, give it a few licks and go to sleep for a while...I knew from that
moment on, What a wonderful dog we have found. I still believe that she found us
though.
Time seemed to pass a little slower with her in our lives. She got to go on
many 
road trips, Thanksgiving at Tom's Parents, Christmas at Both Parents
Houses, Tahoe to see the snow ( ohhh that was funny). I wanted her to see the
ocean, the thought of her chasing the waves, made me smile. She spent a little
bit of time at both my place and Tom's. It seemed that after a few weeks, I
needed my Treat time too. She started to become more and more my dog as well.
Dallas began to tolerate her a little more and even would play back when she
nipped at his heels. Although I really tried to make her spent the night
in her porter... after a few times, she ended up sleeping with me at night. I
would lay down and she would jump up on the bed, find the top of the covers and
just burrow right down to the bottom where it was warm and she could feel my
presence. A little lick on my leg to just say "Thanks Mommy, I will be
good." And she slept the night through. It was funny, I thought I was not a
morning person... This little dog, would take forever to get up in the morning.
One day, I slept in a little late, woke up feeling guilty because I knew she
would have to go out. But, could I get her to come out from under the covers..
Nooooo. I literally had to reach down and drag her out. Silly Girl...
Tom allowed her to come to the office and when I moved into the corner one, I
would just shut the door and let her lay on the floor, with her porter door
open. I opened the blinds and the sun would shine in on the floor. That was the
best thing ever for her. She would just lay there working on her sun tan for
hours. When we went downstairs for potty runs, the lady in the office below us
would always come out just to see her. Cute little thing, she was a charmer. She
always helped me eat my carrots, but we found that she did not like oranges.
They taste funny mommy... and so they got left on the floor. Grapes, well those
were fun. She sucked all the stuff out of the middle and just left the skin on
the floor. It also didn't take her long to figure out that mommy had cookies
hidden in the bottom drawer of her desk. She would come and place her paws on
the drawer and just stare at me till I opened the drawer to let her have one.
She liked the peanut butter ones best. They were a little big.. the small ones
were funnier. I would throw it across the room, make it hit the wall saying
"Incoming"... she took that as her signal to run... pounce on the
cookie, get it in her mouth and throw it again. She would throw that cookie 3-5
times before settling down to crunch away at it. Sometimes is was not the
cookies she was looking for, rather she just wanted to sit on my lap while I
worked. Of course, eventually she made her way onto the desk and would get her
tummy rubs. When I would leave the office for a few minutes, she would climb up
on my chair and lay down. I would come back in and the look on her face said,
"Mommy, I was just keeping it warm for you... honest!" Big brown eyes
and all. She had a favorite toy at the office. We got it a Denny's. It is a
wishbone dog with a sound thing in it. If you click it just right it says
"Be like me, put your nose in a good book." She found just the right
spot and that wishbone doll would say that over and over and over... over....
over. In between all you could hear is click, click, click as she kept biting
down to make it talk to her.
About a month ago I decided to try something new. About a mile from work
there is a no-leash dog park, which is fenced in and the dogs can run and play.
First time we took her there, she spent most of the time hiding under the bench.
You see, the big dogs could not get to her there. She found a friend that day
that was just near size and they spent most of the time running laps around the
bench. Eventually though, she ventured out and started to get to know the big
dogs. Just like my puppy, she had them wrapped around her little paw in no time.
She would run laps around them as if to say, play with me... when she was no
longer the center of attention... ohhh she told you about it. Bark Bark (Play
with me) and run around till another dog noticed her. Then she was off again.
The second time we went was after a huge rain storm and she went from blond to a
muddy brown color. Tom gave her a good bath for that one.
I am sure some of these memories will be found on other pages... Just a few
thoughts I was having today. Dallas misses his little sister. He keeps looking
for her, and looking at me, as if to say, "Where did she go, mommy?" I
can't explain it. All he knows is that his play mate is gone, and mommy/daddy
are very sad. The day we lost her was probably one of the worst
days I have had in a long time. I knew she was missing, and I spent
a while looking for her before Tom got home. I was frantic... and already in
tears. She became a very special part of our lives and has left a huge hole that
can't seem to be filled now. (*My only real request that day was that she was
buried with her stuffed Bear Sandy.) But, I think it has brought
the 2 of us closer. They say that everything happens for a reason, and I really
believe this. Right now though, the reasons are not showing themselves. Maybe in
a few weeks or months, the hurt will be less and the reasons more obvious.
Special people (and animals) come into our lives, and when they are gone again,
there is no question they are waiting for us in heaven. I feel better knowing
that right now Treat is playing with other special animals from mine and Tom's
lives. (Missy, Rosebud, Puss Puss and more) They are standing around her tails
wagging asking Treat, all kinds of questions about us. "How are they? What
do they look like? Tell us more.. and more." And if I know my little "Treater
Bugs"... Her mouth is running a mile a minute, telling all her stories like
we are doing now, because she never knew anything but love and happiness.
She has a lot to tell them. My only regret was that our time with her was
so short and I still had so much more love to give her.
**I guess the biggest lesson I have learned in life is:
The time we get with the ones we truly love can be
so short. 
You never know when it will end. Love them as if each moment will be
the last, even if the moment is something as trivial as working in the garden,
cleaning house or just daily tasks. If they need that one minute to know that
they are special through a hug, smile, touch or even a tummy scratch... TAKE
IT!!!! Please take it. That one moment will give you so much comfort later.
All my love and blessing to anyone who has taken to the
time to read this.
-Tamara (mommy to Treat)
