Isabella Pickle Face, 2006-2008

Yesterday, the kids and I took a lovely walk to the park. On the way home, I saw some guy across the street whistling and paid no attention to it. We got inside, I got the kids a drink, and then I opened the back door to let Izzy in. She didn't come, and then I noticed a big dog-sized chunk missing out of our wooden gate. She isn't called Izzy the Destructor for nothing! No worries, we have an RV pad on the side of our house with a second, metal gate. There is no chewing through that sucker. Then, to my horror, I noticed that the gate was both unlocked and open. The PNM guy who checks our meter left it open! He's done it before, and he just did it again.

I went inside and put a movie on for the kids. My eight-year-old nephew is visiting this week, so I told him I was going to run outside for just a second, and to call me if the kids wander away from their movie. I walked out into my front yard, checked to make sure no cars were coming, and called Izzy's name. Then, I looked to my left and saw two guys looking down at Izzy laying on the side of the road. I totally freaked, and started running toward her.

First, I thought she was just hurt and my head was racing about where to take her, can I move her, is she seriously hurt, how long it would take to get the kids into the car, etc. But, by the time I got to her and I really looked at her for a few seconds, I realized she was already gone. The only cut she had on her was a little knick on her tail. When she got hit, it was a quick death. Someone had already taken her collar off, and was trying to call me on my lost cell phone. The person who hit her just drove off without stopping or even slowing down.

This is when I completely lost it. I really, really wanted to take her home, but I was way too freaked out to pick her up. I didn't think I could handle lifting her limp little body, and carrying it the 50 feet to my house. I tried calling Pete, but just got his voice mail. He had given me his cell phone in case of an emergency since I couldn't find mine, so he didn't have a phone on him. So then I thought I wanted to stay with her until we could move her, but there was no way I was going to leave my kinds inside alone for more than a minute or two. I didn't have a choice, and I had to leave her there. I felt like such a jerk.

It turns out that one of the guys that was there was the guy I had heard whistling. Izzy was just across the street from us as we walked home from the park, but I didn't think to look over because I assumed she was safe in the back yard. He was trying to call her over so he could call the number on her tags. She wouldn't come to him, though. She never really would come to strangers, at least not in the dog park. She had gotten hit in that 10 minute period between us getting home, and getting outside to look for her.

Because I didn't know when Pete would get my frantic message, and I was too freaked out to move her, I decided to just call animal control to come and pick her up. I couldn't exactly leave her lying on the side of the road alone. They came and got her within the hour. By the time Pete called me back and came rushing home, she was already gone.

We are both pretty beat up about the whole thing. Izzy was a big part of our family, and she is missed so much. I had to pick up her things and put them in the garage because I would get so upset every time I passed by her dish or her bed or her kong. When I get in the car, I think how weird it is not telling Izzy to "hop in" or "get in the back". Izzy was no perfect dog. She was a pretty big pain in the butt, to be frank. But she was our dog, and we loved her SO MUCH. She went everywhere and did everything with us. She was our constant companion, and our best friend. I know that sounds cliche, but she really was.

If any of you want to send your condolences, please do so via text or e-mail. Pete and I are both pretty broken up about it, and aren't really ready to talk about it yet. That, or give us a week.

Here are a few things we will miss the most about her.
-The way she would stretch out in downward dog pose and growl/whine like Scooby-Doo with a loud R-R-R-ooooooooooowl in the morning when she woke up. It was so cute!
-The way she would get so excited whenever I picked up my purse. That meant we were going somewhere. The doggie park, maybe?!
-The way she would put her entire body in the big dog dish at the dog park and roll around in a little circle in it. Dork.
-The way she would sit on her butt with her back feet stretched out in front of her.
-Getting down on the floor and curling up with her in her bed. She loved it when I did that. She wasn't allowed on the couch or in our bed.
-Watching her take off like a bolt whenever she was let loose in a big, open space. That girl could run.
-The way she would whack us with her tail when she got really excited about something. It really hurt, but I'll miss it.
-The way she would look at me with her ears up and head cocked to one side whenever I would talk to her using my normal voice. I'd just tell her stuff, and she looked at me like, "I know you're trying to tell me something, but I have no idea what you're saying."
-Pete would sit on the floor and lay her with her back on his belly, and her butt on the floor. She'd just kick back like she was on a recliner.
-The way she would graze under the table where the cat food is. Gaucho is a messy eater and would spill on the floor. Treats!
-She was my canine vacuum cleaner with the kids. She picked up their crumbs.
-How AMAZING she was with the kids. She would just lay there while they climbed on her and poked her in the eyes. What a good dog!
-The way she liked to sit in the baby seat in the car. On her butt, of course.
-Her butt! It was so adorable. Almost like a little horse's butt. My little rump roast. Her brisket was pretty darn cute, too!
-Watching her chase her tail. One of my kids would say she was dancing.
-The way she would put her nose up on the bed and wait for some head scratches.
-The way she would just lick me to death.
-The sound of her snoring. Watching her dream was pretty magical, too.
-When Gaucho was needing lovin' too much, and I was petting Izzy, Gaucho would man up and brave the dog. A couple of times he would lick her if he was feeling really amorous. Izzy would usually just sniff his butt. Gross.
-How much she loved other dogs. It was darn near neurotic how much she just always wanted to play and wrestle.
-All my nerdy nick-names for her like Taters, Goon, Goober, Nerd-head, Beefcake, Punkin', etc.
-The way she's lean her face on stuff and do "pig nose".
-The way she was always happy, always affectionate, and always wanted to please Pete and me.

This list could go on for days, but I'll stop there. I just hope that wherever she is, Izzy knows that she is loved, she is missed, and that she is such a good girl. We miss you so much Izzy!