In Memoriam – Dolly

By Ruby Bonham

Although we remember the lost lives of our park members, there is another loss that we don’t usually share – the loss of a beloved pet. As I was working on this I read Fred’s loss of Kelly. On Friday, St Patrick’s Day my Dolly left to join her Daddy in the light.

Dolly was a street dog in Mexico. Ed met her is 2011. He came out of a little store with a pastry to be met by a gang of street dogs hovering around the exit. A little blond dog followed him to a bench and shared his pastry. He was hooked. He picked her up, fleas and all, and took her to the house where he as staying. She was low dog in the pack pecking order and bore a scar on her nose as evidence of that.

After several baths and fleas combing he took her to a vet for spaying and shots. The vet thought she was still young so she was given a birthday of January 2011. When Ed left Mexico he brought her back with him. We always laughed that she had a green card and was bi-lingual. She bonded very close with Ed and he absolutely adored her. He even wrote a song about finding her in Mexico and bringing her home to the US of A.

I met Dolly in 2015 and we became a family. Dolly never played with toys and was very distrustful of people she didn’t know. At feeding time she would back off and let DeDe (chihuahua) eat first even with separate bowls. She was only affectionate with certain people and was very self sufficient. If we met other people and dogs while walking, she would get behind me. She did not chase squirrels, rabbits, turkeys or deer. She didn’t bark very often. She didn’t get in your lap for long but was content knowing you were nearby ready to pet and scratch her favorite spots. This behavior dated back to her life on the streets. For all that, she was a very happy dog and loved to run in the desert. We had a very close bond with her on her own terms. She was funny and cute.

When Ed died in 2020, she was devastated. She mourned for months and started to show her age before my eyes. When Dede died last year, she became more dependent on me for entertainment. She was failing but still had a good wag to her tail. We spent all our time together and were seldom apart.

Finally on St Patrick’s Day she drew her last breaths as I told her it was OK. With my tears falling on her face, she left to join Ed and DeDe. She is whole, happy and healthy now.

We are a park of older people who have older pets. Way too often we lose then to age and illness. It is a part of life but that doesn’t make it easy. All we can do is remember them with love and affection, both human and animal. So in memoriam to Dolly DeDe, Kelly and the many other beloved pets.