Annie and Lilly

My family has always had cats. When I was little, we had three cats – one for each of us – and they were named Hickory, Dickory, and Doc. Doc was mine, but in name only, since all three cats played with us pretty equally. I remember being really upset when my brother had to take Doc to be put to sleep.

There were many cats after that. Snowball, Midnight, OJ – usually named based on their color. My mom had grown up with Boston Terriers, and my two older brothers had played with Grandma and Granddad’s Boston Terriers when they were little. But they had moved to a retirement community in Florida by the time I was old enough to remember anything, and they never had pets in Florida.

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I had never really interacted with dogs before, but when I started Dating Grandpa, I got to meet his two Basset Hounds, Annie and Lilly. And they stank!

I knew that some animals have odor, but theirs was very strong. At first I didn’t interact with them much, but as Papa and I spent more time together, it included the Girls. They were so friendly and sweet and goofy that it was hard not to like them. And at 60+ pounds each, it was comical when they wanted to sit in my lap! And sometimes at the same time!

Papa would bring them to my little rented house and they loved playing in the fenced backyard. They thought it was their own private dogpark.

My cats were not as amused though. They also thought the girls were stinky, but over time they managed a truce, especially after Greta gave a look at Lilly and made her flinch. It was so funny to watch a little 15 pound cat terrorize a huge Basset by just looking at her! Watch Greta and Lilly HERE

Papa was still working and sometimes had to travel for work, so I started having the Girls overnight for sleepovers. My cats resigned themselves to having step-puppies and even seemed to miss them when they went back home.

I loved how the Girls would get so excited every time I came to visit. They would always do a cute little routine of jumping over each other rapidly in what I called their Puppy Dance. They would then rush over and body check me in their excitement. Annie especially liked to French kiss me as I opened my mouth to say Hi Girls!

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But time goes on, and puppies get older. While I was in Korea, during the Pandemic, Papa called to tell me that Lilly had tumors and had to be put to sleep. It really hurt to be so far away and not be able to go see her one more time. And I worried about Annie losing her sister. They were born in the same litter and because they were bonded, had to be adopted as a pair. But Annie was strong and did ok. I was happy to see her when I returned from Korea, but because of the continuing requirements on social distancing, it was only a few times outdoors last summer.

Three weeks ago I got the call – it was time for Annie to join her sister across the Rainbow Bridge.

Sigh.

I loved those stinky puppies.