Skip to main content

Bogie Wisdom 12/24/91 - 1/16/10




























For someone who’d grown up with big dogs it was amazing that it was the small guys that stole my heart.

We had a year old terri/poo, Cocoa, at home and felt he needed company even if I was home all the time. Plus there was a large pair of brown eyes at our local pet shop that had caught me just as Cocoa said “okay, pay Barry and let’s get out of here.” All I knew was that he was an eight-week-old Chihuahua/Yorkie who said “I choose you. Can we go home now?” And we did.

Bogie was so very tiny and our neighbors’ kids volunteered names for him, but I was looking for just the right name. He could basically fit in the palm of my hand and tucked very nicely in my robe’s pocket. Then I realized I had the name: Bogie. No, not the golf term or Humphrey Bogart, but that radar blip that was there yet not there. That was my baby.

Cocoa was mine, but Bogie was my baby. We went through nights of puppy hiccups and tummy aches. Lots of cuddles and walks in the open land we used to have around here. And they both had the distinction of being the only dogs allowed in my friend Susan’s house. Even her own dogs still aren’t allowed in.

Bogie understood that Cocoa had seizures and when Cocoa went to Rainbow Ridge in 1996, Bogie was with us at the vet’s to understand that this time Cocoa wouldn’t be coming home. The same happened in 2003 when our St. Bernard/Lab, Fergie, went to Rainbow Ridge.

I was teased because Bogie felt I was here to carry him around. If we were outside talking to friends and Bogie was with me it wasn’t unusual for him to stand on his hind legs and beg for me to pick him up. That meant he was draped over my shoulder like a baby.

Bogie also had this funny quirk. Whenever he got a treat he hid it. So we’d always find Milkbones and other treats under couch pillows, hidden behind furniture, or pretty much in plain sight. I have to say that quirk taught Fergie how to track since she loved nothing more than hunting down those treats to take for her very own.

Look at Bogie’s Christmas photo. Cute or what? His sweater was knitted for him by a fan that suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. She knitted two sweaters for him and two for Cocoa. This day I remember so well because the photographer asked me to say his name to get his attention because he didn’t look all that happy. I said “Bogie, cookie!” and this is what we got. My handsome guy looking like the happy dog he always was.
And no wonder I used him in a few of my books. He was pure magick.

He was the one who slept next to me. Who stayed by the back door when I was gone, waiting for me to go home. He’s always been my little shadow. Sadly, as he got older, he took my absences harder. I was told he’d cry at the door until I got back. And the strange thing about it was many times he didn’t start crying until the time I was heading back home. As if he felt I wasn’t driving fast enough.

But Bogie’s age started catching up with him. Back problems and tender hips meant he couldn’t race up and down the stairs any longer. He could climb them, and insisted on it, but I always carried him downstairs. And if he didn’t think he could make it upstairs, he’ll look at me and I’d know he’d want a ride up. Then he started wandering and I looked into his eyes and knew I was losing him.

I bargained with Fate. His 18th birthday was last Christmas Eve. I wanted that for him and he got it. It would be so easy to bargain that Valentine’s Day was coming, St. Patrick’s Day, but it wouldn’t be fair to him and very selfish of me.

Last July a found dog came into my life and when I later found his owner, he was offered to me. From the first day Barney showed up in our front yard family and friends told me he was brought into my life to ease the eventual loss of Bogie.

I don’t know if it made it easier. After all, Bogie and I’ve been together for 18 years, but I do know there’s someone to hug and love and who hugs and loves me back.

Bogie had so much heart. He was a tough little guy and he will never be forgotten. I held him in my arms while he went to sleep for the last time.

Good-bye my baby. Mama will miss you so very very much.

Comments

  1. Our pets bece part of our lives, especially the ones who chose us. Hugs and happy memories to you

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so sorry for your loss Linda. Losing a pet is like losing a part of the family. I still get tears in my eyes every time I think of Clancy. Still, she lives in my books (with a sex change operation) as Dave.

    At least it's a comfort to know that Bogie is with Cocoa and Fergie, and the three are looking down on you.

    Hugs...Robin

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sorry for your loss, Linda. My Consuela and I were together for 17 years and I still miss her every day. I probably always will.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, Linda. I can't bear to have another pet because of all those I've lost over the years, so I feel your pain. The good memories are wonderful to have though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So sorry to hear about your loss. Animals become so much more than just "pets," they are a big part of the family. We don't have kids so our four-legged beauties are our "kids" and they are spoiled rotten (and they spoil us in return). May the wonderful memories help ease the pain you feel. And yes, I believe other pets come into our lives to help with what is to come.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Linda, that was one of the loveliest, sweetest pet memoirs I ever read. I could feel Bogie's little spirit in every line.

    I wish I could think of some words of comfort, but I can't.

    Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks all. Bogie will live on in my books and as Stasi's magickal Bogie.

    Barney has been looking for him and realizes something is wrong. I talked to him and told him he has big paws to fill even if he is bigger.

    One cute thing. Barney decided he had to go out in the middle of the night and I woke up to him sitting on me. It's usually Bogie that's gotten me up. Looks like that will be his idea of a wake up call.

    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  8. Linda,
    I knew there would be tears at the end, but it didn't stop them from falling. You and Bogie had some great times together and I know you'll miss him.
    Big hugs,
    Cheryl

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can sympathize with you. I have lost 5 'babies in the last few years.
    Great post about Bogie!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful and loving dog.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Linda I too am so sorry for your loss I have 3 dogs and as I type this 2 of them are sitting at my feet. they are so very close to me all the time but they are getting on in years as well Tootsie is nearly 16 and Brandy and Blocker are 12 and I don't know what will happen when I loose them.

    Helen

    ReplyDelete
  12. Linda--I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I know how important he was to you! I know he will live on through your work. We are all hear for you!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I know this is a little late, but, to me our pets are the Angels God sends our way to keep us company and to watch over us. I know it seems like such a short time that they are here, but as long as we remember, the live on. I'm sorry for your loss, but know that, in spirit, Bogie and her co-horts are always watching out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Helen, Danielle and Jessica.

    Yep, Bogie's still here. He's making sure Barney behaves. And here for me.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I lost my Tikki after sixteen years, and it broke my heart, so I know just how you feel, Linda.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment