For Milo: A Tribute To A Once In a Lifetime Pet

I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about a beloved dog that I used to own. Her name is Milo.

Milo is part lab and part terrier but is all love, chicken, and joy. We got Milo shortly after she was born in a Walmart parking lot, where a lady was giving away a litter of pups. We looked through the litter to see which one would catch our eye, but Milo waltzed right up to us, and It was a done deal.

She was a small but cute thing and had a huge belly on her. She was adorable. We got her some food to eat, but she wouldn’t for a day or so. Being worried about her, we took her to a vet. We would find out afterward that she had worms. So the veterinarian gave her some meds. A few days later, we had a garbage disposal of a dog, as she ate everything she could get her teeth on. This was our dog, ladies, and gentlemen.

Over the years, Milo would get into so many things, such as chew through the cable that connected us to the Internet, chew dog toys like they were brownies, and even chew rope toys – not play with them… DIGEST them! Believe me. I had to literally pull a piece of rope from her but, at least once. But she was our dog and we loved the heck out of her.

So it’s midnight as I am writing this post, and I just found out hours ago that the family that has milo now has finally put her down to rest. She had cancer and it was on the outside of her belly. The pain was becoming unbearable for her that putting her to sleep was the only humane option.

I am going to miss my buddy… hardcore.

Although I did not cry upon hearing of her passing, I have been feeling the hardest and deepest of feelings today. In the 13 years, that dog has been alive, my wife and I have had her for eight glorious years. We’ve had her through multiple apartment moves, cross-country relocations, health scares, you name it. All the while, Milo has been this bundle of joy that I called my fur baby. Between my wife and me, I was clearly the dog’s favorite. I think Milo and I had sort of a kindred spirit. She loved to lick my face… a lot!

 

She loved to tear apart stuffed toys, plastic toys, “indestructible” toys. IF it was a toy, she’d shred it in seconds. All except tennis balls (as long as you threw it so she could run after it. We also had this game called “doggie NASCAR“, where she would run around in a frenzy, usually around a coffee table, when she was krunk up. She’d burn a lot of energy running around, but for the most part, she was a sweet easy-going doggie. Pretty chill, for the most part.

She was also afraid of a lot of unnecessary things, sounds, winds, moving objects, cats (yes, cats. lol). Very few times (if ever) have I seen her exert dominance over anything. She was very submissive, and yet loveable. Her submissiveness and playfulness were never more on display than when we took her to a dog park. The first few times there, she was timid. But the more we went, she sorta seemed like the life of a dog party – running with the other doggies, when my wife and I weren’t throwing balls so that she could chase them. Most of all, she loved people more than other dogs (or “hoomans” lol).

My wife and I have so many memories with her, it’s virtually impossible to put them all down to writing. She was (for a long time) afraid of lakes and streams. One of the first times we took Milo to a lake she went to chase down some ducks. Well, the ducks made a b-line for the water, and Milo ran after them. Little did she know that the land ended and the water began, and she plopped right into the water. We could not get her back in the water for years. Years later, she surprised us by walking through a small creek (which is not a big deal for most dogs, but for her, it was huuuuuge)!

We also made the mistake of getting lunch while running errands one day, and we left the lunch in an unfortunate spot of our car, where she apparently had clear access to it. It was a bag of Krystals that we were going to eat, once we were done doing errands. Big mistake. We left the car for a few minutes, and when we got back, all the burgers were gone! We were going to punish her, but the look of bloated exhaustion on her face was instant karma for her pigging out on the food. We laughed our heads off, felt sorry for her, and mad all at the same time – but mostly laughed at her. Needless to say, it was a lesson learned for all of us.

My wife on occasion would catch Milo with a stick from a tree in her mouth that she would try to bring into the house. Not having it, my wife told her to leave the stick, and to Milo’s credit – she put down the stick… then picked it back up and ran into the house. Talk about a smart-ass dog. We, then, had to teach her to “drop it” and “leave it.” That dog was too intelligent for her own good. lol

Giving her up was perhaps one of the hardest days of my life. At the time, our living situation was not that healthy for us – let alone our dog. It was a tough, but necessary decision that needed to be made. We were fortunate to know of a family that not only would take her on, but keep us in the loop on what and how she was doing. We gave her up nearly five years ago and hadn’t seen her physically, since that time.

So when the news came that Milo would soon not be with us anymore, my wife and I took it hard in our own individual ways. We wanted Milo to be at peace (and knew the day of her passing would eventually come,) but there’s never enough time to prepare, and the passing always comes way too soon. The one comforting takeaway was that she went quickly and peacefully. Perhaps the most painful part of her ordeal was that she was in pain at all. Now, she’s at peace.

We were fortunate to have had the time we had with Milo. She’s enriched our lives in ways we never would imagine. We have another dog now (and she’s an extremely sweet one at it,) but Milo will always have a special place in my heart. That was my furbaby, my kiddo.

Milo, wherever you may be, your spirit will be missed. You were loved by many, and you will always be my “woof woof.”

Until we meet again,

Love you. Rest in peace, Milo.