“My, but she’s big,” were my first words upon seeing Abby, our new second hand dog, a lab/setter mix.
Eight-year-old Abby weighed 70-plus pounds, had long legs and an elongated body. She clearly was not small, not even smallish. She was a big dog. Dick loved her at first sight. I was more ambivalent. We got out a food dish. We showed her a spot on the loveseat where she was allowed to lounge, which she did for the next five years.
As the day wore on, I couldn’t help notice her personality. She was a friendly dog with a large tail that readily wagged. She liked people, but I just couldn’t stop noticing her size. Later in the afternoon, I sat down and relaxed, and from across the room, Abby walked directly towards me, pulled back her lips and began smiling. I’ve never seen a goofier sight.
My heart melted, and although she was Dick’s dog, I knew I was in second place. From that day forward, I was one of her biggest fans.
Abby was a great dog. She never roamed, but stayed in the yard, moving from her favorite places: in front of the garage door, at the garden entrance and on the front deck where she could survey comings and goings.
She liked creating new “places,” especially in my garden where she once tucked herself in behind the arborvitae and slept and another time in the middle of an overgrown patch of daylilies.
She loved riding in cars. On long trips, she stretched out in the back seat and slept. When Dick took her to town in his pickup, she sat up and looked out the window which he often left partially open.
She was affectionate and loved to lick. She liked licking my face, my hands and Magoo’s, the pug’s ears, giving him a good nightly washing. Not sure he was crazy about this large dog with a slurpy tongue giving him regular baths, and he sometimes pulled away and escaped, but they were friends, and he never snarled or growled.
Abby never quit smiling, although once she knew she’d ensnared my heart, not as frequently.
She made it to age 13, and we were privileged to have her live with us for five years. She passed away this summer on a hot July day.
She is sorely missed.
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