December, 2002

Kelly,
   I pray every day that you will understand that I could not watch you have those horrible seizures and only wanted you to be out of pain from the crippling arthritis.
   I pray that your first love, my Mom, was waiting for you over the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

Kelly an Apricot Poodle

   We had just left the veterinarian’s office, where we had to put our beloved Smoky down, when I told my husband that we could not go home without another dog. I knew my 82-year-old mother would be beside herself when she heard about Smoky. Although my husband was against it, we went to the Humane Society to look for another pet. There we found and fell in love with a 110 pound Malamute named King.
   Arriving home, I had my husband stay outside with King, until I could break the sad news to Mom. She had been praying that God would take her and not Smoky. When I told her about King, she was not about to transfer her love to some other dog. I explained that he was about to be put down, when she relented. King came in and took over the same spot that Smoky had laid in. This broke down any barriers my Mother had.
   All of the above took place on a Friday afternoon. Sunday morning, My Mother said, “But you promised me a poodle if anything happened to Smoky.” The newspaper did have an ad for Apricot Poodles. We called and made arrangements to go see the puppies.
   This began a love affair for all of us that lasted over 18 years.
   We named the little ball of red fur Kelly. Although leery of how King would take to a puppy, we were surprised that they became the best of friends. Whenever King would lie down, Kelly would lay against his stomach.
   As soon as Kelly was old enough, he let us know that he was the Alpha dog. Although he weighed less than 11 pounds, he had his own ideas of how we should act. Mealtime was when he wanted to eat, play time was also at his leisure.
   When a large dog threatened King, it was a three-month-old ball of red fur that chased the bully away. He found he had a voice and he really used it. He also found that his staring power was such that he could get my husband out of his recliner for a walk.
   When Kelly was about five years old, we lost Mom and then a month later, King. With Kelly’s personality, we decided one dog was enough. After a few years, we were both working and I was concerned about Kelly being too lonely at home by himself. Kiley, a white poodle puppy entered the picture, A male.
   The first day, Kelly really enjoyed having a puppy there, but by the next day, he was saying, that’s enough, take him back where you found him. On the third day, Kelly decided this puppy must be a female.
   To make a long story short, we had to neuter both of them. Since Kelly was almost fifteen, we were concerned how it would affect him. Our vet explained that it would be healthier for him. Actually, it was Kiley who had a bit of a rough time of it.
   His last three years of life, although partially deaf and blind, he continued to intimidate us all. He chased Kiley from one end of the house to the other until Kiley would hop up on the bed to get away from him. But Kelly would stand at the end of the bed and verbally tell him off.
   When he wanted to play and Kiley didn’t, he would butt his head against Kiley’s side and twist it back and forth. If Kiley still wouldn’t play, he would come and bark at me.
I had prayed that when it was time, he would just go to sleep. But it wasn’t to be.
   He had two seizures, the second one being the worst. I held him tight with each one, knowing that the time was here where I could not let him suffer anymore. All the arthritis medicine and pain pills would not save him. I had to let my redheaded baby go.
   He was first my Mom’s love, so I am praying that she was waiting for him across the Rainbow Bridge and that when my time comes, they will be waiting for me.