Make That Three…

I mentioned we had lost 2 pets in my last post.. 

We lost Hugo


(hugie, hugester, hugini, choochers, etc), a family dog, in January, as well as our first pet after we got married, Hamilton (Ham).

I found out yesterday that we just lost Bubba.

(This picture does not do his exquisite furriness justice, it was post-summer-haircut)

Bubby boy was the last addition to our doggie family before I left for college. The last animal link to my childhood (as long as being 15 still counts as being a child :) which I’m learning more and more that to some, being 24 still equates being a child..). Sweet Bubba. He was so sensitive, so docile and loving. As I describe him, I want you to imagine Aslan (from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) doing these things, because that’s pretty much what he was like.

He was a chow husky mix, and my parents were concerned about the chow part with kids, so I have great memories of playing with his food while he ate, tugging his ears, and just generally being obnoxious towards him with the hope that he would learn to ignore it and be great with kids. And it worked.. mostly. He was fine with us, including my 11 year old brother, but our little shrimpy neighbor kids (who are strapping young men and a beautiful young lady now) scared the daylights out of him. You could not quiet him when they were outside playing with my brother. We thought maybe it was because they were closest to his eye level.. who knows.

He was very protective too, in a tail-wagging kind of way :) But he sounded like he was going to eat you, so we always felt very safe when home alone with him. I think the fed ex man and any maintenance men hated coming to our house because of the giant scary dog, but any of them that came regularly knew he was just a little lambsy.

When Luke died (our first family dog), Bubba went kind of crazy. Any time he was alone he went nuts, chewing on the door and walls. This behavior led to Hugo. We’re not sure Bubba much liked Hugo, or that he even liked Pip (the newest addition), but we know he liked having them around more than he liked being alone. He was a very social dog.

And I loved him. I loved getting right into his face trying to force the eye contact he so longed to avoid at such proximities. I loved kissing his big, flat, furry nose. I loved his exceeding fluffiness. I loved attempting to get him to (please, please! Pleeeeeeease Bubby) let me use him as a pillow, which usually lasted all of 5 seconds before he relocated. I loved how he would never eat a grape. He’d just roll it around in his mouth for a while and eventually spit it out and walk away. He was a very picky eater.

I know he’s just a dog, but that’s exactly it. For us, he was a dog and a companion to our family. He was an important part of all of our lives. And anyone who has loved and lost a pet knows the truth of that. We will dearly miss the Bubster. Sweet, sweet Bubby.