• About Stephen Roth

A Place for My Stuff

~ The hopes, dreams and random projects of author Stephen Roth

A Place for My Stuff

Monthly Archives: March 2019

So Much More Than a Pet

27 Wednesday Mar 2019

Posted by ghosteye3 in my life, observations, stephen roth

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

comic strips, family, pearls before swine, pets

The cartoon above by Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis ran in newspapers a few months ago, and instantly struck a chord with many folks who have loved and lost an animal who was more a member of the family than just a pet.

I’m sharing the cartoon today because my family recently said goodbye to Keiko, our English Shepherd mix who provided us with so much joy, affection and wet-nosed kisses over 14 years. Keiko was a constant in our lives through job changes, a move across town, heart-breaks and triumphs, and more than a dozen brutally hot Midwestern summers. During her lifetime, Keiko endured two pet cats, her humans’ hectic work schedules, and various yapping little dogs in the neighboring yards. Meanwhile, we tolerated bare patches in the backyard, the constant shedding of dog hair around the house, and the occasional “gift” in the corner of the basement when Keiko couldn’t quite make it outside in time.

Like Edee in Pearls Before Swine, Keiko was a gentle, nurturing dog that neighborhood kids often approached for a quick scratch behind the ears. In more than nine years, she never once growled or snapped at our son, despite the tugging, pulling, and errant karate kicks little boys sometimes inflict on pets. In fact, Keiko was very protective of our child. From the time we brought a three-day old infant home from the hospital, Keiko would bark and growl at any stranger who approached our doorstep, perhaps knowing how much this little baby meant to us. In a way, he was her baby, too.

For me, Keiko was an enthusiastic walking companion, even on days when the thermostat dipped into the teens or soared above 90. For my wife, Keiko was a tricolored shadow, following her from room to room, especially the warm bathroom on cold winter mornings, or the kitchen, where there was usually a pretzel cracker to enjoy.

Like the beloved pooch memorialized in Stephan’s cartoon, Keiko had cancer, and we had to put her to sleep. The staff at the veterinarian’s office were almost as heartbroken as we were. A few days later, they sent us a sympathy card with an image of a dog bounding across the Rainbow Bridge. Fourteen-year-old dogs affect a lot of human lives.

Does a Rainbow Bridge exist? I’d like to think it does. It would be nice seeing Keiko again. The house seems emptier now. Walking the neighborhood sidewalks without holding her lease feels strange. Even our son, who complained of having to let Keiko out several times a day to go pee in her later years, claims that he misses her. I even miss–at least a little bit–vacuuming the downstairs and pulling up gobs of black and white Keiko-hair from the medium-pile carpet.

Our hearts are a little broken right now, and it could be a while before we welcome a new animal into our family. There’ll be no replacing our soft, sweet companion of more than 14 years.

Rest in peace, Keiko.

Keiko, in her younger years.

Cooling off with a friend.

Follow My Stuff!

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Blog Archive

  • May 2022 (1)
  • March 2022 (1)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • March 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • March 2018 (3)
  • February 2018 (3)
  • February 2017 (3)
  • January 2017 (3)
  • December 2016 (2)
  • November 2016 (4)
  • September 2016 (2)
  • August 2016 (6)
  • July 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (4)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (5)
  • March 2016 (4)
  • February 2016 (5)
  • September 2015 (1)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (4)
  • June 2015 (2)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (1)
  • March 2015 (3)
  • February 2015 (3)
  • January 2015 (4)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (1)
  • October 2014 (5)
  • September 2014 (6)
  • August 2014 (5)
  • July 2014 (6)
  • June 2014 (6)
  • May 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (6)
  • March 2014 (5)
  • February 2014 (6)
  • January 2014 (7)
  • December 2013 (7)
  • November 2013 (7)
  • October 2013 (6)
  • September 2013 (5)
  • August 2013 (7)
  • July 2013 (7)
  • June 2013 (4)
  • May 2013 (5)
  • April 2013 (6)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (7)

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 335 other subscribers

Blogs I Follow

  • So Many Miles
  • Jolie and Piper's Writing
  • Deidra Alexander's Blog
  • rummy's own blog
  • Five More Minutes.....
  • Daily Inspiration Blog
  • The Shameful Sheep
  • LITERARY TITAN
  • Grateful and Authentic
  • Stuff White People Like
  • Storyshucker
  • 8 Hamilton Ave.
  • SO... THAT HAPPENED
  • TruckerDesiree
  • Mercer University Press News
  • BookPeople
  • A Place for My Stuff
  • "Write!" she says.
  • TwistedSifter
  • André Bakes His Way Through Martha Stewart's Cookie Book

Posts Categories

advertising A Plot for Pridemore author book review current events entertainment fiction growing up humor media movie reviews music my life observations parenthood photo fiction president satire social media sports stephen roth Uncategorized

Goodreads

Blogroll

  • Discuss
Follow A Place for My Stuff on WordPress.com

Categories

  • A Plot for Pridemore
  • advertising
  • author
  • book review
  • current events
  • entertainment
  • fiction
  • growing up
  • humor
  • media
  • movie reviews
  • music
  • my life
  • observations
  • parenthood
  • photo fiction
  • president
  • satire
  • social media
  • sports
  • stephen roth
  • Uncategorized

Blog at WordPress.com.

So Many Miles

Thru-hiking. Truck-driving. Miles.

Jolie and Piper's Writing

Deidra Alexander's Blog

I have people to kill, lives to ruin, plagues to bring, and worlds to destroy. I am not the Angel of Death. I'm a fiction writer.

rummy's own blog

Writing. Exploring. Learning.

Five More Minutes.....

I am a mother of five active, sometimes aggravating children that drive me crazy, provide me with lots of entertainment and remind me constantly about the value of love and family. I am married to my best friend. He makes me laugh every day (usually at myself). I love to eat, run, write, read and then eat again, run again…you get it. I am a children's author, having published four books with MeeGenuis (The Halloween Costume, When Santa Was Small, The Baseball Game, and The Great Adventure Brothers). I have had several pieces of writing published on Adoptive Families, Adoption Today, Brain Child, Scary Mommy, and Ten To Twenty Parenting. I am also a child psychologist, however I honestly think that I may have learned more from my parents and my children than I ever did in any book I read in graduate school. This blog is a place where I can gather my thoughts and my stories and share them with others. My writing is usually about kids and trying to see the world through their eyes, a few about parenting, adoption (one of my children is adopted) and some other random thoughts thrown in… I hope you enjoy them! So grab a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine, depending on what time of day it is (or what kind of day it is) and take a few minutes to sit back, relax and read. Please add your comments or opinions, I know you must have something to say, and I would love to hear it. Thanks for stopping by. Anne Cavanaugh-Sawan

Daily Inspiration Blog

The Shameful Sheep

LITERARY TITAN

Connecting Authors and Readers

Grateful and Authentic

Shift Your Perspective, Change Your Life

Stuff White People Like

This blog is devoted to stuff that white people like

Storyshucker

A blog full of humorous and poignant observations.

8 Hamilton Ave.

Reading, writing & other mysteries

SO... THAT HAPPENED

TruckerDesiree

Offering Opinions and Insights

Mercer University Press News

Our Mission: Mercer University Press supports the work of the University in achieving excellence and scholarly discipline in the fields of liberal learning, professional knowledge, and regional investigation by making the results of scholarly investigation and literary excellence available to the worldwide community.

BookPeople

Howdy! We're the largest independent bookstore in Texas. This is our blog.

A Place for My Stuff

The hopes, dreams and random projects of author Stephen Roth

"Write!" she says.

Tales from the car rider line and other stories

TwistedSifter

The Best of the visual Web, sifted, sorted and summarized

André Bakes His Way Through Martha Stewart's Cookie Book

175 cookie recipes - 175 stories to tell

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • A Place for My Stuff
    • Join 227 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • A Place for My Stuff
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...