My family has felt the depths of such a loss when we lost our family pet, a Cocker Spaniel named Taffy.
Taffy was a fence-jumping, chicken chasing, stinky breathed, fur scratching, devoted member of our family. He held a special place in our heart because he had saved our two-year-old son Andy’s life when he wandered off into the street.
We got Taffy because I am an early morning riser and I saw an ad in the paper looking for a new home for a Cocker Spaniel who had some bad that made it impossible for his current owners to keep him. When I called the number at 6 am, I was told that the current owners lived on a small acreage and, try as they might, Taffy could not be curtailed from the enjoyment of jumping the neighbor’s fence and harassing the chickens.
The neighbors insisted that Taffy either be chained up or a six foot fence be installed between the properties. The owner family was heartbroken and had determined that Taffy deserved to be in a place where she wasn’t constantly being scolded and yelled at by the neighbors.
We kept the children out of school, because they wanted to interview the whole family and drove the 30 miles to see if we were “suitable owners” for this mischievous bundle of fur.
Hurrah, we passed the test as Taffy licked the faces of the little girls and jumped playfully on Andy, our baby boy.
Agreeing that they could drop in anytime to check on how we were treating Taffy, we piled in the car for the ride home.
Shortly after getting Taffy we had a birthday party for Andy who was turning two years old. Andy’s favorite gift was a pair of cowboy boots with pointed toes. He wanted to wear them 24/7. He was often seen in the yard on the swing set or playing with Taffy in only training pants and his cowboy boots.
One day while working in the house, I realized I could no longer hear giggles and barks coming from the yard. Running quickly I saw that both gates were still locked but both the baby and dog were gone!
Panic stricken, I looked all over our property and then started running up the block towards the busy street two blocks away. Crying their names, I heard a woman by the street yell; “are you looking for a little blond haired boy and a blond haired dog?”
You can imagine my emotions when I got there and scooped up my Andy;
- Relief that he was safe
- Anger that he had somehow gotten out of the yard
- Embarrassment that a crowd of people had rushed outside to help or watch the little boy dressed in only wet pants and cowboy boots and the dog who was hanging his head get in trouble by the hysterical woman.
But the over-riding emotion I felt then, and that I still feel now writing about it 25 years later, is gratitude and humility.
A woman who had rushed outside of her business after seeing a small boy trying to walk on the street and a dog trying to herd him back told us the story. She said that Taffy saved Andy’s life by continually getting in front of him so Andy could not go ahead into the speeding traffic.
She said she had rushed over to take Andy’s hand and lead him back to safety. Since he obviously had no identification on him, she was looking for tags on the dog when she heard me yelling.
Of course we had not had enough time to get current dog tags, so she would have called the former owners who would have probably recanted our suitability as a family worthy of Taffy.
Andy confessed that he had used the toes of his little cowboy boots to climb the fence and Taffy had simply jumped the fence and followed him.
After the adventure, Taffy and Andy were inseparable and both of them spoiled rotten by the rest of the family.
Fast Forward to a Painful Family Decision…
Eventually the day came when, as a family, we agreed that Taffy could no longer go on. She could not go up and down stairs, was constantly incontinent, and was in such pain that even petting her hurt her.
After a tearful goodbye from each of us, my husband Dwain, ever the strong silent hero of the group, wrapped her in a special blanket and took her to the vet for the final visit.
Our hearts were heavy that day. Our tears were plentiful. For once, the house was silent and everyone was grieving in their own unique and special way. Even Tiddles the cat was not his usual self.
But for all of us, Taffy was and is our hero. Not just because she jumped the fence to save Andy, but because she was an important and valuable member of our family. She not only brought protection, enjoyment, and companionship to all of us, but she also taught us about loyalty.
It was because of Taffy’s examples of loyalty to us that we, individually and as a family group, have been more loyal friends and associates to others, human and animal.
PS: The incident of jumping the fence to save Andy’s life is the one and only time she ever jumped a fence in the many years she lived and loved with us.
I Lost My Best Friend Today-Dealing with the Loss of a Pet was a labor of love born from my desire to help other people who are struggling with this significant loss.