Schultzie (April 1989 - November 2004)

Schultzie was my pup. She was born 20 years ago today to my Dad's dog, "Willie" (short for Willamena). I was on a first date with a guy named Andrew at his junior prom the night she was born, but was more excited about her impending birth.

I made at least three phone calls throughout the night to check on Willie and the litter. No cell phones back then so I imagine those calls were fairly intrusive. I was 17, and didn't think to consider that that might have been rude. (Who me?) Needless to say, I never went out with Andrew again. But Schultzie and I were together for more than 15 years.

I am shocked (and slightly shamed) to realize that there is not even one mention of her on this blog. But then again, I started this blog in January of 2006. I was deep in the throes of early parenthood. I had a 9 month old and a two-year old. So in that light, I suppose it makes perfect sense that Schultz was overlooked. Schultzie was my baby before I had babies. After the wee humans arrive, everything changes for our beloved pets, doesn't it?

She was the best dog ever. I know people say that but really. She was clever and affectionate. She had personality. She wasn't a yapper. She had this way of growl-talking at all the right moments: It forced us to anthropomorphize her. It was uncanny. After hours on the couch, her whiskers would be all gnarled up into a Bob Marley mess that we called shmush-face. And she usually woke up grumpy (like a lot of the good humans do.) She licked my toes and I let her. For all twelve pounds of her, somehow she could sound like a herd of cattle running on the second floor.

She lived well over fifteen years and by the time I finally put her down, she had been my pup for nearly half of my lifetime. She met me when I was a kid. She met all my boyfriends and both husbands. She lived with me in every apartment and house I have ever lived in since I ventured out on my own. She knew me pregnant, was with me when I miscarried, and met my firstborn. That's a lotta dog years.

Props to Schultzie.