A few weeks ago we lost one of our dogs, Lenore. We had rescued her from a shelter where she had come in as a stray. The volunteer coordinator from the shelter called me because she knew as an older dog her chances of getting adopted were very slim (she was estimated to be 12-15 years old) - not to mention her disposition. Lenore wouldn't socialize with shelter visitors, she just stayed curled up in a ball in the kennel. You've heard that saying, "so ugly she's cute?" Well, that would probably apply to Lenore. When I picked her up from the shelter she licked the kennel attendant on the face and I thought, "Oh she's going to turn out to be a sweetheart." Well, I wasn't exactly right on that one.
My husband named her Lenore after the Edgar Allan Poe poem because this dog was like something Poe would've written about. She would bite and attack any dog that would come too close. She was feisty to say the least. She was pretty much blind, old and crabby. I don't know that she had ever been around humans much...she didn't have much use for us. She HATED to be held and would whip her head around trying to bite your hands if you picked her up. She had a cognitive disorder (similar to Alzheimer's in people) so she spend most of her days going in a circle. She never did warm up to the luxury of indoor living...she didn't like beds or blankets. Her favorite spot was on a towel on the kitchen floor. Though she never quite blossomed like some of the other dogs have, she did seem content. She loved eating, and especially loved treats.
I miss her. I miss seeing her sleeping in the middle of the kitchen floor. I miss having to clean around her little curled up body. I miss her mournful bark. I'm glad she spent the last year and a half of her life warm, full and unconditionally loved. Goodbye my sweet Lenore.
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