Remember When?

My mother's brother, Joe, sent our family a gift after my youngest brother, Jon, was born (summer of 1981). A puppy. Just what my mother needed after having her 6th child (she cried). "Tawnie" is what our family voted to name her (because of her coloring). She was a dog superior to all others in the neighborhood.

I don't want my siblings to feel bad or anything, but I was her favorite...I could see it in her eyes (they all probably saw the same thing in those beautiful eyes). Tawnie loved me. I took great pride in her...after all she was beautiful and lovable. Even the vet loved her.

She and the vet became quite close after she got hit by a car (I will never forget my brother Geoff holding her and crying after it happened) and then later hit by a delivery truck (she had a metal pin in her leg and walked with a limp for the rest of her life). Now, I didn't say she was street smart, but she was people smart. She protected our home from some delinquent teenagers when they tried to break in. That's right. She was tough!

Tawnie was thoughtful of others. Later in life, when my brothers were in their rabbit faze, she was known to let rabbits (she could sense their boredom) out of cages and have wild games of tag! She also looked after orphaned bunnies and mothered them. She was patient. She was selfless. She let us dress her up when she clearly thought it was beneath her. She was the family garbage disposal. She was a soft place to rest your head after a bad day at school. I miss you girl.