When I wrote the first story of our dog Odie, I didn’t know that I would write a Part 2, but there were so many more stories that I decided more of this little dog’s story needed to be told.
My first story about Odie came out on Dec. 7 in the paper. The next day Odie lost his battle and passed over the Rainbow Bridge. How we miss that little dog, he was one of a kind and I will always have a special place in my heart for him.
The last day was so hard. I rocked him almost the entire day. He hardly took his eyes off me, his way of telling me, “It’s time, Mom. You will miss me, but I will always be with you in your heart and in your memories.”
As I’m writing this story, the tears are falling and I can hardly see the computer screen, but it’s something I must do to honor this little dog. Oh, the antics this little guy got into — I’m laughing and crying at the same time.
I said in my first story that I brought Odie home from Central Aroostook Humane Society when he was around 2 years old, and when he passed he was going on 19, so we had him a good long time.
Odie’s favorite thing in the winter was bird and squirrel watching. My husband put bird feeders in almost every window so it didn’t matter where Odie was, on the back of the couch or in bed, he could see the feeders and what was at them. If squirrels were at the feeder, he would bark and bark and we would let him out to chase them. He was fast, but he never caught one. I often wondered what he would do with it if he did catch it. At one point I had to put a laundry basket upside down in from of the window so he could jump on it and be right in front of the window to watch and terrorize them. Or maybe it was the other way around and they terrorized him.
One early spring my husband decided to go fishing across the road and took Odie with him. They were inseparable. Remember, he was supposed to be my dog, but he became my husband’s sidekick.
At one point I looked out the window and saw Odie coming down the driveway all by himself. It looked like my husband was still fishing, so I went to open the door to let Odie in. He came in with his tail wagging and tongue hanging out and a big smile on his face. If you could have seen him covered in burdocks — and I don’t mean a few. They were in his ears, and his ears were stuck out straight on both sides. His tail was also covered in burdocks and stuck straight up in the air.
Now those of you familiar with Lhasa Apsos know they have a lot of hair on their ears and tail. I was seeing red. It took me almost two hours to get them out. And believe me when I say he just didn’t lay there and let me take them out. He cried, growled and bit at me, but I got them all out and both of us made it through the ordeal.
I had a big stuffed monkey that I had gotten for a gift, and Odie took to that monkey like it was his best friend. I left it on the floor with his toys and every night after supper he would tackle that monkey. When he passed, I was going to toss the monkey, but then decided I couldn’t. I washed him and put Odie’s collar and tags on him and he sits on my bed now.
Odie loved hunting. He loved the woods, and he would scout around our house looking and smelling out critters. If he was inside, he would be on the back of the couch, and if he saw a critter he would bark and carry on. We would look out and there was always something — a fox, rabbit, deer or moose. You could tell the difference in his barks if something was out in the yard. He always let us know.
Sometimes I would let him outdoors and if I wasn’t watching him closely, he would disappear. He had a trail through the woods to our neighbors’ house next door and always enjoyed visiting on occasion. Many times, I would tell him no visiting, but if he was in the mood to visit, he went. He loved everyone and everyone loved him.
We had many good years with this little dog. He was loved and he was spoiled, the way it should be. He was a part of the Wieder family. He was a lucky dog to have us, and we were so lucky to have found him. Odie will always hold a special place in our hearts.
If you are looking for an animal to love, check out the Central Aroostook Humane Society, 24 Cross St., Presque Isle.
I will leave you with this quote by Colette: “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.”
Gail Wieder is a member of the Central Aroostook Humane Society board of directors.
