Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Goodbye to my sweet Celti dog

Our dog, Celti was diagnosed with probable liver failure exactly one month ago yesterday. Last night, she took a turn for the worse. After some testing, and hearing all of our options, it became clear to us that these options would mostly be for us, so we made one of the hardest decisions that we've had to make and decided it was her time to go. She made the cross over the "rainbow bridge" as so many dog lovers call it, at around 2:00 this morning. I thought I could share with you all some of my memories of Celti and her quirkiness.

Celti was a corgi-mix that my mom brought home from the pound when I was in 11th grade. She was cute, and brown, and independent, though she loved attention. She also loved the beach:



She and Corgan would run and play:


















and find dead fish to smell:












They also had fun at the creek with all the other dogs, and posed for one of my favorite pictures of them afterward:














She was really good with Corgan and took to him as if she were his mother, constantly cleaning his face and ears, and correcting him when he got too excited (or annoying). Sometimes, she would even let him sit next to her:













especially if they could both get belly rubs:















One of her favorite past times was chasing tennis balls:






















And at dog parks, her favorite thing to do was to explore the perimiter to see who all had been there before her.

Generally, she was a polite little dog who would do her best to follow the rules - she even achieved "Level 4" status at dog training at the age of 9. She certainly proved that you can teach an old dog new tricks! However, she did not like workmen coming in the house, and if you came in wearing work boots, she would bite at your pantlegs, trying to herd you out of the house.

Speaking of herding, she would try to herd us while out on a walk. She was really good and never ran away, so we would let her off of the leash while we were walking, and she would weave back and forth behind Scott and me, making sure we both continued to progress in a forward motion. On occasion, she would run wide circles around us when we weren't moving fast enough for her.

Celti was a good friend to me through thick and thin and won over the hearts of almost everyone she met. I'm pretty convinced you couldn't find another dog as sweet, obedient, loving, and cute as she was, and she is greatly missed already. Scott feels similarly, and you can see his memories in the comments section of this blog post.

4 comments:

jenn said...

Oh Jenni & Scott ~ my heart breaks for you guys! Its been a tough couple of weeks for you all and I hope in time you'll find peace.

Celti ~ please say hi to my Squiggles up there.

J. Scott said...

One of my favorite things about Celti was how she told you she loved you - with a slight headbutt. She would just walk up to you and nuzzle her head against your leg or your hand and hold it there for a few seconds. Here are some of my other favorite memories of Celti:

She loved to sleep in beds that were made for dogs much smaller than her. Often it didn't look too comfortable, with her all curled up as small as she could be and her head still hanging over the edge of the bed. But that's what she loved to do. We got her a bed that was just her size for Christmas a few years ago. You can see her testing it out Christmas morning here. Her nightly routine would be to dig the big plush pillow out of the way and wedge herself in between the pillow and the side of the bed, making it much smaller and cozier.

Another one of my favorite memories was when we brought her to the vet for a routine checkup and she made friends with a tissue box cover that looked like a dog. Anytime I think about that it makes me laugh.

Thanks for all of the thoughts, kind words, and prayers from everyone. We're going to miss her a lot.

Kendra said...

I'm so sorry to hear about Celti's passing, Jenni -- your post about her was beautiful, though, and it is plain to see that she had a wonderful time on this planet.

Anonymous said...

Aren't animals the best? You gave Celti love, security and a doggie pal. She gave you an appreciation of the world and left you with terrific memories. What a sweetie!

Susie