The saying “Dog is man’s best friend” was first recorded to have been said by Frederick of Prussia in 1789 and there’s a lot of truth to it. A dog’s love and loyalty are unconditional.
I’ve always loved animals and especially dogs and having to say goodbye to our dog Frankie yesterday was harder than I thought. In the last week, his health has deteriorated and we found out that his heart was becoming weaker and weaker. To rationalise the nearing end was easy. He was old, almost 95 years old in human years. He has had a great life. He won’t suffer anymore.
But love is not rational.
Gratefulness is something that should be practised. It will turn your life more positive, I promise. Yesterday, I was grateful for having gotten 14 years with Frankie. I picked Frankie up from a shelter in South Central back in 2006. He was the only survivor of a litter that had been found in a crackhouse. Last night, I had to say goodbye to him. His little heart was too weak.
Last night, I sat with Mishel and reminisced over some of the crazy memories we had with him. He brought a lot of laughter and what better way to remember him but to share some of his amazing deeds.
Frankie was an escape artist. He ran away more than 10 times in his lifetime. The first time he did it, he ended up in the pound. When at first I couldn’t find him, our friend Molly of the Rescue Train sent out an email to her large email list with a picture of Frankie. About a week later, I had
Frankie with me at Whole Foods when a girl comes up and asked: “Excuse me, is your dog’s name Frankie?” I told her yes and she said she recognized him from the email that had been sent out.
Another time he managed to escape through a metal gate, by bending the metal back. A friend helped by putting a piece of wood over the area he had bent back. He chewed through it and escaped again. We then put a piece of metal over the wood. He then bent back the metal and escaped a third time. That was a few years ago and I was searching my Facebook to find the video of him at the party I found him at, where the guys were chanting “Frankie”.
I remember the time I went to pick him up at Dima’s house and I thought someone had broken in and vandalized the place since the carpet had been pulled back several feet and all the moulding was damaged. It was hard to believe such a small creature could do so much damage.
I loved seeing the pictures, videos and memories people shared of Frankie today. I had honestly forgotten how many people had met him over the years.
And for those wondering if losing a dog even matters after losing my son: yes, it does. It doesn’t compare on any level but grief is grief and although this wasn’t heartbreaking in the same way because Frankie had a great life, he will always have a special place in my heart. What was truly hard was explaining to Nico that Frankie wasn’t coming home anymore and that he went to heaven to be with Liam, to which Nico asked when he can say hi to Liam and give him a kiss. That was hard.
Rest easy Frankie and give Liam a kiss from us.