Apr 08
22
It is only a mild exaggeration—although certainly an overused platitude—to say that Maebel was the best dog in the world. Unlike other people who use this phrase, however, I could call up at least a dozen people who could corroborate this claim without hesitation. In fact, her mild mannered, lovable personality was often contagious. We dubbed this the “Maebel effect” because after people got to know Maebel they would inevitably decide that they needed to get a dog themselves. Maybe it was the endearing way that she would back herself up between the legs of any newcomer until she got them to pet her. Or maybe it was her obedience and cache of tricks.
Maebel had this special ability to lay around the house calm and serene in an almost coma-like state, and in the next moment, when we left the house, she would zoom around the park with the fastest dogs and ruff-house with the biggest. She pretty much behaved exactly the way you would want a dog to behave in most situations. Sure, she had her quirks. She was scared of children, balloons, balls, plastic bags, bicycles, yoga balls, sudden movements, and countless other things. Sure, she may have begged for some table scraps on occasion, but she was always extremely cute about it.
When we found out last summer that Maebel had kidney failure we were pretty devastated. We were told that she might only have a few months left to live. She defied expectations and we've been so lucky to have her on borrowed time since then. This past week nature caught up with her, and today we had to let her go.
We have shared a lot of special memories with Maebel these past six years. She will forever be a part of our lives. She has made us laugh and smile a lot, but today she makes us cry. We miss you a lot, Maebel!