We have sad news to report. Daisy Jones-Klein, beloved pet, avid
road-tripper, keen observer of the human condition, imaginative Googler, and dogblogger extraordinaire, has died. Being
seventeen-ish, she had a long life, and one well-lived.
After, we were tidying up her belongings – her pied-à-terrier as she called it – for donation
to our local shelter. As she wasn’t much into material possessions, there
wasn’t a whole lot – a couple of pillows, food bowls, and squeaky toys. But we also
came across some notes she had prepared, what appears to be a finished but
unpublished entry for her blog. We offer it below, as her parting gift.
Now
it's time to say good night
Good
night, sleep tight
Now
the sun turns out his light
Good
night, sleep tight
─The
Beatles (1968)
Hi,
everybody! Daisy Jones-Klein here. I
know, I know, it’s been a long while since I last wrote about life here in New
Mexico. It’s not that there’s nothing going on; au contraire, there’s much more than one dog can keep up with. I’ve
been here five years now, and still it’s a sweet life.
But I’ve
been slowing down of late, more and more it seems. Lots of little things adding up, but since I’m
not one to kvetch, I won’t bore you with details. Still, increasingly, it’s
becoming clear that my Outer Doggie is struggling hard to keep up with my Inner
Puppy.
My Peeps
have noticed this too, and seem worried. The other day, I overheard them
talking in hushed tones. They spoke of a special place out in the country; Rancho del Bunny they called it. It’s a
place where dogs like me could feel better and chase bunnies and nap and snack
to our heart’s content, free from aches and pains. It sounded kinda nice.
Actually,
though … I think I know what they really
mean by that. And I also think they don’t want me to know, hoping to shield me.
And I, in turn, don’t want them to know that I know what they know, respecting
the tough choices that Peeps must face from time to time. Sometimes, within a
Family, Deep Truths can be shared without being spoken.
But it’s all
okay. We critters get it. Circle of Life, Hakuna Matada, Que Sera, Sera. Really, it’s okay. It’s always been good to be Daisy, as I hope
it’s been good to be you too.
Even my
early, troubled days were good. There’s not a lot of history on my wayward
youth, and not a lot that I still remember. But I remember well that day back
in September 2005. I was living in a Russell Rescue shelter out in
Harrisonburg, VA, waiting for my third or maybe fourth Forever Home. My Peeps
walked in, anxiously looking around. We made eye contact, and I made that
special move where I tilt my head a little to the side and then show my Sad
Lil’ Puppy Eyes™. (C’mon, you know
the one!) That’s all it took! They knew Resistance was futile, and the deal
was sealed. A little bit of paperwork later, me and the New Peeps were on our
way to my next Forever Home.
Life was
pretty good in Virginia. I was the very embodiment of a High Energy Jack
Russell Terrier. And to all our neighbors’ ankles and terrorized pets, my
sincere apologies. My Peeps, used to wussy Cocker Spaniels, had no idea what
they adopted. But eventually we became attuned to each other’s’ rhythms.
Then, in
2012, we took our Epic Road Trip, leaving behind our Forever Home in Virginia
to our new Forever Home out here in Santa Fe. It was during this time that my
literary career was launched. The Peeps had made promises to friends and family
to keep them apprised on our westward trek progress. Bo-ring!
As fate would have it, about three days in they were too pooped to blog
after driving, and asked me to take a guest turn. As seen through a dog’s eyes,
road trips and most everything else are just more interesting. It didn’t take
long for me to pretty much take over the blogging operation, letting them focus
on their chauffeuring duties.
Once here, I
kept up the blogging activities. Now living in a state they call the Land of Enchantment and in a town dubbed
The City Different, there was never a
lack of things to write about. And in addition to blogging about this dog’s
life, I also enjoyed my role as a researcher, using that Google thing to bring
y’all cool FUN FACTS. These are three of my favorites:
- Personal Achievement. Everyone’s good at something, even if it takes a while to discover what that is. I was about 10 years old – no young pup – when I started blogging. But FUN FACT: If you Google the phrase "favorite dogblogger", this blog is at the top of the Google charts! That actually happened my first week into this job, and I’ve been there ever since. Under my fur, I’m blushing.
- Healthy Living Habits. One of my perennial New Year’s resolutions has been not to get eaten by a coyote. On that score, I’ve done pretty good, year after year not getting eaten. Not that such things don’t ever happen, though. FUN FACT: If you Google “was eaten by a coyote", you get several thousand hits. That’s a lot of coyote snacking! But if you add “Daisy” to the beginning of the search phrase, the hits drop all the way down to a handful, and those were all for Jessica Simpson’s maltipoo dog Daisy, who actually was eaten by coyotes in 2009. So according to the Google, to this day I’ve never been eaten by coyotes, and Jessica Simpson’s not my Peep, so those are actually two good things right there.
- Pride in my Tribe. They say all breeds are created equal, but some of us are … well … especially equal. My very favoritest FUN FACT: Google hits for "Lovable Jack Russell Terrier" number in the thousands. No surprise there; we JRTs are just totes adorbs, and bred to melt hearts. But to this very day, there has never been a single instance of "Unlovable J--- R---- T----" across all the Internets. So don’t you dare break the streak!
And from
time to time, I also offered up a few nuggets of the Wisdom of the Canine,
guidelines for getting through perilous times. I know that chillaxing can be
difficult for Peeps, and I hope I’ve helped bring a Dog’s-Eye View to living in
the moment – head close to the ground, four feet firmly planted , open to the
possibilities of each dawning day, and all the senses cranked up to eleven.
I look back
with no regrets. Well, maybe a few, but I’ll chalk up to youthful indiscretions
my occasional ankle nipping and sometimes disastrous choices in sampling roadside
mystery treats. But every rescue dog knows that there can be second or even
third chances to get things right. Other than that, I guess I can say that this
has been a great gig. I grew up in a State for Lovers, and moved out to live in
the Land of Enchantment. I’ve taken some epic road trips, napped in the
sunshine, licked a lotta plates, snuggled with my Peeps, blogged for my friends
and fans, barked when I needed to let my Freak Flag fly, got a barrelful of
bellyrubs, and chased a hundred bunnies. My Bucket List is complete.
But you
know, it’s a funny thing … for all the chasing, I never actually caught a bunny. But in so many other
ways – the ways that seem to Truly Matter – I kinda caught them all.
So don’t
mourn that I’m gone. Smile that I was. And give someone you love a little lick
on the nose for me.
Daisy
Jones-Klein
Santa Fe, NM
Dream
sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Good
night.
Good
night, everybody.
Everybody,
everywhere.
G’night.
─The
Beatles (1968)
Thank you, Daisy. For all of it.
We’ll be making a donation in Daisy’s name to the Española Valley Humane Society and to Russell Rescue. Both are fine organizations.
Somewhere, out there, there are other Daisys looking for their Forever Home.
May her memory be a blessing.
Dan &
Robbyne
June 2017
