When the dog is the Rock Star

Today we bid goodbye to our beloved greyhound Madge.  I know everyone has or has had that special dog that no other person has ever had and well it may be true.  Madge was that dog for our family for sure.  She was our leg leaning, excitable spinning, 60-pound 45 mile per hour couch potato.  We had Madge for 6 years, 8 months and 14 days.  That was 2,448 days to be exact.  More exacting is that we had her for 3,525,120 minutes.  I would prefer to think of her in terms of minutes because every minute with her was fun.  Every minute with her was a blessing.  Every minute with her was, well, rewarding.  She never cared that you were having a bad day because in that minute that she walked up to you you were the most important person in the world.  Everything about her came down to the minute.  We walked her 3 or 4 times a day, maybe 20 minutes or so per walk.  She was a rock star in our small town of 1,800 people.  Everyone knew her.  They acknowledged us when we walked her, but everyone wanted their minute with her.  Just to pet her, for her to lean against them, for them to just take a minute to say hello.  For that minute she was their best friend.

People asked all the time if Madge was a rescue greyhound and I guess the short answer to that is yes, but the real question is who was the rescue and who was the rescuer?  We did adopt Madge from a greyhound rescue, so in that sense, she was a rescue, but she also rescued us.  She rescued our family in that she provided so much new joy to us.  In the beginning, we loved watching her learn new things.  Seeing her confusion looking in a mirror, trying to figure out where those steps went and then figuring out how to maneuver on them.  Watching her suddenly wake up and start spinning on our living room floor while my wife and I watched thinking what in the world is wrong with this dog.  Spinning became the funny sideshow to many a stunned passersby while we were on our walks.  As Madge grew older, her muzzle turned white, all of those super muscles got a little softer and the affection grew even stronger for our family.  Always the lover of nature she started posing for her morning photos in front of and inside of any bush or flowering plant that she could find.  Madgie started getting a following on facebook as the daily pictures captured hearts near and far.  Madge was in her element, she was making people feel better, she was making people happy and most of all she was making people forget time and just admire her love for everything around her even if just for a minute. 

We adopted Madge around the same time as Marley and Me was released in theaters.  I remember watching it then thinking that I hope we didn’t have a dog like Marley.  WOW!  That dog was crazy!  But in many ways we did have a dog like Marley.  Marley captured your heart for his crazy rambunctiousness.  Madge captured it the opposite way.  She was calm and oh so very sweet.  She was the photo negative to Marley, but in the end, they were very similar.  They were full of life until they weren’t.  Madge didn’t give us time to prepare.  She was sick a few days and wasn’t drinking much water and didn’t feel like eating, but she was still Madge.  She was always looking for a person to lean against, a hand to pet her on her head or a kid to lay down next to right up to the end.  When I took her to the vet today and stood talking to the technician, there was Madge, leaning against my leg while I played with her ear (she loved that).  When it was time, she was dutiful in her love for me understanding the tough decision that I had just made and she assumed her normal position as I sat on the floor.  She laid her head against my leg, waited, and then, she was gone. 

My daughter Rachael found the excerpt from Marley and Me that summed up what a dog wants, “A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?"― John Grogan, Marley & Me

For the entire time that Madge was with our family I worked from home.  Everyday, all day, when I was the only one in the house, she would lay behind my office chair except when it was time to go for our 3 o’clock walk or when she heard the kids’ school bus.  Then she was all business.  She could always sense when I may have had a difficult phone call or when I was tense.  She would get up from her spot and make me take a minute to pet her.  That was Madge.  The ultimate officemate.  She just wanted me to take a minute to relieve MY stress.  In the evenings when it was time to watch TV there was Madge, sharing the couch with me watching baseball, football, a thousand movies (including Marley and Me just a couple of weeks ago), a million TV shows, anything.  She just wanted to be there.  To her, every minute counted.  All 3,525,120 minutes to be exact.

My blog is about playlists and music and while this blog post is about my dog it is also about music.  Madge was rock and roll, Madge was jazz.  She was singer songwriter and pop.  She was country and she was techno.  Madge was all of the emotions of the music that I loved rolled into one living immortal being.  Like a great song, in my heart and mind she will never die.  Like the great songs that have seen me through a lot of pain and sorrow, happiness and joy, Madge’s love for everyone in our house won’t be drowned out because she isn’t here anymore.  My office sure is quiet though.

My playlist dedication to my Madgie.  They are songs that make me think of her.

More Like You- Freebo

Summer Breeze – Jason Mraz

Rainbow Connection – Johnny Mathis (or Kermit.  Your choice)

Gone To The Dogs - KT Tunstall

Please – John Carrie and Moor Green
Old Blue Chair - Kenny Chesney

Down The Road – Mickey Hart
Morning Dance - Spyro Gyra

Gift – O.A.R.

You’ll Be In My Heart – Phil Collins

Reach For The Sun – The Polyphonic Spree

Secret Of Life – Richie Havens

Hymn - Ultravox
Wild Horses - Rolling Stones