Hannah resting from painting with Maggie and Girly
who loved to hang out while we worked.
As of yesterday evening, Girly is no longer with us. She was a great dog who watched over our family and loved Brandon with everything she had in her. Sadly, she passed while Brandon was in Richmond at DuPont, so he did not get a goodbye. She had cancer and when it took a turn for the much worse, we intervened to save her suffering.
In 2015 a friend's father had cancer and passed. Her mother could not handle two dogs, so she parted with Girly. Our friend asked me if our family could take her. I talked with Brandon. Brandon was closing on his house, so he went to get her. Girly instinctively knew Brandon was her master. Their relationship made me smile a lot over the years.
I knew Girly was going to bond closely to him and watch over him when I knocked and opened his bedroom door the next morning after her arrival. Brandon had slept on the floor to comfort a scared Girly. That simple gesture caused her to bond very, very closely with him. Girly jumped up and with her legs and body spread over top of my sleeping son bared her teeth and growled lethally. She was ready to defend her brand new owner. It was the only time she ever growled at any of us, but it told me she'd watch over Brandon when he slept in his new home.
Girly had seen some disturbing things as her former owner departed. She was sad, confused, and filled with anxiety when she came to us. The change was so hard on her. I didn't know what to do to calm her, so I picked her up (she was not a light dog!), sat down with her in an old rocking chair, and rocked her like a baby. After a few minutes, she leaned into me and rested. After a couple of times of that, she would come to me and ask me to comfort her. That's how she and I bonded...me trying to comfort a very scared creature and she figuring out that I cared and wanted to help.
Brandon spoiled her. She often ate whatever he had prepared at his home. He often cooks gourmet meals, so she had some nice meals! He also took her through drive-thrus once a week to give her a drive and a treat. I gave Brandon his old crib mattress for her to use as a bed. She went on camping trips, off-roading, hikes, beach walks, pet stores, etc. That dog traveled so many miles!
Girly started losing her hearing a little over a year ago. All nine of us worked together to keep her safe, make her feel loved, and teach her signs for what we needed her to do.
Girly went from living with two elderly people with a fenced-in yard to Brandon and his family of nine and 14 acres. She had a very full and wonderful life here. Because being alone scared her so much, Brandon dropped her off at the farm every morning so she could be around the family. She'd go home with him every evening.
She could tell when it was getting close for him to arrive and would ask to be let outside so she could wait in the driveway. If it was too cold, she would sit on the stairs where she could see out of our dining room window and watch for him. I knew he was home by her excited behavior.
She listened in as we did homeschool and played in the yard right beside our five youngest. She went to so many places and loved camping with us. She was so loyal, so very loyal to Brandon. She loved his return so much she would dance and sing! Joshua was her second choice in a human, but she loved us all dearly. And, we loved her. We're going to miss her a lot for a long time.
It feels like a "changing of the guard" around here without Maggie and Girly patrolling our place.
