Open Letter from Maia to her BGDF (Best Girl Dog Friend) Kaia

Yesterday, I went for a walk with my Mom along the C& O Canal and I missed you! We had so much fun last weekend. It was almost like before. Not completely though because, for whatever reasons, you always have to growl at me first when you see me, then, you kind of forgot about it. It does hurt my feelings but I always discard it right away, because, each time, I am so happy to be with you.

Of course, I was born a few months before you, like 4/5 months, so, obviously we did not meet right away. When Mom brought me home from that garage where I was staying with my siblings, I was so happy! I was in a warm house, surrounded by good friends. Zeus was the best friend I could ever have. I loved to snuggle with him, and when I grew up, I think he liked to have me around during thunderstorms. I hope that I helped him during these stressful times!

I remember the day after Mom brought me home, we got a lot of white stuff, and yes I remember wondering about my siblings, and how they were handling it in their garage. I kind of love the white stuff, and I had fun with Lola. It was kind of weird, you know, because it was cold and wet, but not wet like the river. The river is just too wet for me!

It was in early summer of 2007 that I met you for the first time. Deborah, my mom’s daughter, brought you to our home, and instantly, we clicked. We loved the same thing: hanging out in the dust, not mud please, just dust, and sunbathing on the deck.

We were seeing a lot of each other at that time because your Mom was going out of town a lot, then, when your Mom was working, you were coming every morning and leaving at night. I knew exactly when you were coming: it was always after breakfast. I have always been a slow eater, but when I knew you were coming, I was eating ever faster than Lola and Zeus! Then, you arrived, and we had so many choices: like hanging out in the family room on the couch, or on Mom’s bed, or playing in the yard, or hanging out on the deck.

Things changed one day: When you were coming home in the morning, you were ignoring me, and going straight to Mom’s bed and staying there the whole day. I tried to convince you to come to hang out with me, but one day, you even snapped at me, and I retreated, totally puzzled. I always thought that the fact that you were silent and never even had the tiny bark to explain what happened was a big mistake. I am sure we could have settled things down. Barking would have been far better that the silence. But you just started to ignore me.

Then, one day, you stopped coming. It was in 2009. I remember clearly, because you stopped coming just a few months before Zeus crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and I was feeling so lonely after he was gone.

I needed you there girlfriend! Lola was so busy at that time with her own kids, and I was kind of jealous of her. I would have loved to have kids who would have followed me everywhere, and I think I would have taught them better manners that she did with hers! Sometimes, I still wondered why I could not have those cute little things too, but when I see how fast they grew up and how – even now, five years later, they can still be so obnoxious, maybe it was a blessing that it did not happen.

So, Kaia, this letter might be better than a lot of barking in a way, but when you came to spend the last weekend at home, I was so happy, but now, the house looks empty again without you. I started to hang out a bit with Zoe, but Zoe has too many blonde moments for me. You and I, Kaia, we understood each other with just a look or a smell. What happened girlfriend? We were goofing around all the time! Remember the whipping cream we stole?

Sometimes I feel so lonely and it doesn’t matter how many dogs are home with me, that I feel like howling, and you know me, I don’t howl that easily!

I hope that you are happy staying with your two feline friends: Lolita and Chloe. But today, the sun is shining, and I would have loved nothing better than lying down on the deck with you.

Pawsitively yours,

Maia.