It’s taken me a long time to announce this. I made several posts that quietly honored Stitch’s memory, but no announcement, until now. Stitch suffered from degenerative myelopathy for the past few years, and he struggled for a long time. We thought last summer was his last, but we were blessed to have him one more full summer. We said goodbye to our elderbull on the last day of Labor Day weekend, September 1, 2014. Stitch taught me a lesson I will never forget. He showed me it truly is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. Stitch was named after the sweet character from Lilo and Stitch. His notched ears gave him the name, and his personality was a match. The Lilo and Stitch movie says, Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten. And simply, Stitch was family. Stitch was everything family should be. Stitch fought for his family. He couldnt swim, just like the cartoon character and tried to climb onto Daves head many years ago when he ran into a lake and didnt know what he got himself into. When Marley grew old, Stitch never challenged his leadership, Instead, Stitch taught Marley how to use the newly built ramp when Marleys legs couldnt use the stairs anymore, and impaired brain functionality made it hard to adjust to where the ramp began, compared to where the stairs had been. A year later, Stitch mourned the loss of his sister Jessie and wouldnt touch a toy if it had her scent. That’s especially interesting when you know the two of them used to seem to always fight like siblings over toys. Ezra was born just when Jessie passed. Stitch valiantly overcame his over-excitement and discomfort in order to acclimate to a new crying baby in the house. We thank my parents and Uncle Manny for helping Stitch with this. Stitch loved and accepted Ezra, and was truly trustworthy and gentle with Ezra at all times, even when Ezra became a rambunctious toddler. Stitch was a strong, beautiful dog. Stitch LOVED to cuddle. This dog didn’t just like to be on the bed, but he loved to cuddle close (spooning!) and sleep under the covers with you. When he was young, his muscles were amazing, but his joints were always a challenge, and became more swollen with arthritis with age. Stitch had a natural hunting instinct, but he enjoyed V-Dog, the high quality vegan dog food that he ate for the last few months of his life, when other foods didn’t seem to agree with him. Stitch literally oozed love the first day I touched him 12 years ago, and he reveled in the joy of human touch. He excitedly rubbed his entire body against my legs in crazy 8 patterns again and again, and loved to give kisses. He was one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever met. I always wondered if his intelligence and problem solving skills developed because he wasn’t coddled as a puppy, and had to find solutions on his own. Stitch could make a bed out of anything, and I even watched him use a brown grocery bag as a bed once before he laid down on the carpet next to my desk. He was so accustomed to finding something to lay on in that gravel parking lot, that he continued that for a while. He loved to find a pile of laundry and sleep in it. He once took a sweater from one room and brought it to the hallway to make a bed out of it. My last few days with Stitch were filled with love, and my heart and body cuddled him. In the years prior, I missed out on a deeper connection with him to protect my heart, or because I was too busy managing a baby and then a toddler with him, but the last few days were beautifully limitless. I hope he always felt love from me, and a great respect and appreciation, and most definitely, a loving acceptance of his ailing body. We miss him even more than any of us expected, and I’m grateful for missing him. I’m grateful for loving him. I’m grateful for every time Ezra says that he misses Stitch, because it means that he had a chance to love Stitch, and Stitch had a chance to be part of Ezra’s life. Although Ezra wishes Stitch could have played ball with him, and Stitch would agree that he wishes he could have run after balls, Ezra grew to love him and gave him kisses, and witnessed the love and care a senior dog deserves. Im proud of Stitch. Stitch proved that he could be safe and trustworthy with a baby, a boisterous and not always gentle toddler, and finally, a preschooler and his boys friends. Stitch was able to move past his fears and past experiences, because Stitch was a true family member. Everyone who met him in the past few years noted the same thing “What a gentle soul”. Yes, most certainly. And a forgiving one. Stitch, I miss you. We miss you. I’m sorry for your sorrows. I’m sorry there were times you were lonely. You deserved to be spoiled always. You may have had a $500 memory foam mattress, but you could no longer sleep in our bed with us, and you didn’t get the attention you deserved and probably craved. I look back and remember the times you barked for seeming no reason, and I was overwhelmed. And I realize now, maybe you were just asking for love and attention. But I am grateful for everything, and for every loving moment you shared with me. Thank you for always being better than we deserved. I love you. You are family, and you will never be forgotten or left behind. We love you. And we thank you for everything. And we miss you.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 20:14:26 +0000
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