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Leigh-Anne's Dog, "Lover Dolly," - A Tribute…
Lover Dolly, my dog, died at 2:10
pm Sept. 19, 1997
 Today, it was so hard before her doctor arrived
at my home, I was with Lover all morning loving her and talking
to her while she was sniffing and digging around her bed. I
told her that I was doing it for her because I didn't want
her to suffer more later on. Lover was totally blind, deaf,
had bad back problems and she yipped occasionally because she
probably was uncomfortable While I was talking to her, she
couldn't understand what was going on, but she was licking
me and occasionally barked. When, the doctor and a male nurse
arrived, I started to fall apart with tears running down my
cheeks. While Dr. Williams was giving her a shot, Lover barked
three times saying "I LOVE YOU" I was saying to her "It
is alright, Lover it's alright I love you." After Lover
went asleep, I held her in my lap for a minute saying goodbye
Lover acted like a peaceful RaggedyAnn doll. I kissed her before
Dr. Williams took her away. I'm having her cremated. When I
get her ashes back, I'm going to go really early in the morning
to the beach, before sunrise Sprinkle her ashes out in the
ocean so I will feel her spirit around me when the sun is rising.
I know I will be close to Lover whenever I go out fishing.
I'm feeling so sad because I am missing her already, but I,
also, feel so relieved that Lover is at peace right now and
free from suffering. Lover was a wonderful dog and truly a
best friend to me I will never forget her and I know that Lover
knows that I loved her very much.
A Memory of Her Life
 First of all, I want to thank Grandpa Barnett.
He is the one who gave me my beautiful toy poodle. He bought
Lover from a breeder. Since Lover's mother could not take care
of Lover because Lover was so sick and dying, Grandpa decided
to take good care of Lover by feeding her, bathing her, loving
her, and giving her a lot of shots to cure her. About a few
weeks later, Grandpa called me in Michigan from Ohio to tell
me that he had a special dog for me to take care of. My parents
didn't expect it. Anyway, Grandpa ask me to think up a name
for Lover and he described her personality. So, I called him
back the next day and I decided to name her "Lover Dolly." Note:
I know some of you will think the name sounds funny, but I
was 12 yrs. old when I got her and I didn't know any better
except that she loved to lick people all the time. LOL When
my grandpa and Lover came to visit me, Lover looked so small
and adorable. She was under five pounds. She would nibble my
fingers, ears and toes. She was a licker. I could tell that
she was a people animal. When I would give her a bath, she
looked like a little drowned rat. After she became more mature,
she weighed under 10 pounds. I was grateful for that because
she could jump up on my lap.
Later on, when she got to know me really
well, she knew that I was a unique person. She sensed that
I needed help physically. Every morning when I would wake up,
she would lay her dry dog food on my bed next to me right after
she would eat herself so I'd have some. Whenever I called someone
for help, Lover would always go to get the person and bark
loudly for them to realize that I needed help. When Lover and
I would play with her ball, she would drop the ball next to
me or on my lap so I could reach and throw it with no problem.
But, with the people who didn't have any physical disability,
Lover would drop the ball about four or five feet away to make
them walk to get it. Talking about unique, SHE WAS UNIQUE!
Lover used to tease me when we had playfights She would gently
grab my wrist with her mouth while she was growling and sometimes,
she would knock me over. Her favorite snack was Bonz and Marrow
Bones Whenever I gave her some bones, she always dug under
her bed and hid the bone.
Lover was very smart. She would sit nicely and speak loudly
when I had some food for her. There were some foods that she
liked which I thought were weird I.E.: dill pickles, pickle
peppers, some chips with hot sauce, hot peanuts and almost
anything. Of course, Mc Donald's french fries and popcorn were
her favorites. LOL The foods that she didn't like were raisins,
lettuce, and grapes. Lover was so funny, too. When I would
cry, Lover would come to me and lick my tears while she was
barking. As if she were saying "It's okay!"
As she became elderly, she would lick my feet for half an
hour or so. She and I finally knew that we could not play with
each other like we used to because of her back. She had developed
bad arthritis in her lower back and also, had become a little
deaf. So, we accommodated each other. Her back would feel better
about 15 minutes after I gave her a baby aspirin. She acted
young again when the aspirin clicked in. Then she would ask
me to play again. The aspirin was a miracle for her. Besides
that, she knew that everytime I would get her some American
processed cheese from the refrigerator and shake the baby aspirin
bottle (I put her aspirin in the cheese and rolled it up in
a little ball for her to chew). She would feel better after
while. She would get so excited to eat that miracle food for
her back.
Lover Dolly, my very best friend, taught me a lot about life.
Life is a circle. When Lover came to me as a baby, she had
to learn everything. When she became old, she became my baby
again. I will never forget her.
A Tribute: Leigh-Anne Tompkins |
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