Everything about Ginger was easy

Ginger

Mary Williams
Gazette Columnist
My before Christmas column included multiple reasons for disliking the holidays. They ranged from Santa never bringing me a pony to dealing with planes filled with stressed passengers.

An important, on-purpose deletion was losing Lucy two years ago. Her mobility waned drastically during December and I had to let her go the Monday after Christmas. I dreaded every “How was your Christmas” question because my answer was, “I killed my dog”. Maybe not exactly those words but always that emotion.

I still had Ginger, though, and in March, Joey came to live with us and proceeded to bring out the puppy in my 12-year-old terrier. They tugged on toys, they ran like the wind, and Ginger showed her alpha side (something Lucy never allowed) by jumping on the bed, rolling around until all the pillows were pushed to the floor and then snarling at the now barking Joey.

We returned to hiking in the woods, something I’d limited because of Lucy’s stiff legs and back. Ginger loved the water. Joey loved running. I loved watching the two of them. So, that’s what we did for the holidays, just treated them like any other perfect mountain day and that worked for me.

Until this year. The Monday after Christmas I carried Ginger into Dr. Blackmore’s office, wrapped in a soft quilt that brought out the red tones in her blond fur. In 12 short hours she’d had two serious seizures or strokes and it was my responsibility to make sure she didn’t have to suffer through any more.

Two dogs in two years (exactly) is a lot to ask of any one person, but Ginger made it easy (everything about Ginger was easy). She was at least 14 and even for a medium sized girl, that’s an advanced age, really too old to even consider putting her through extensive testing and treatment. And, her life had included pretty much everything a dog could hope for. She had lots of human friends, dog friends, food, toys, beds inside and out, daily exercise and lots and lots of love.

Joey and I miss her though, so we’ve invited River to spend some time with us. She’s a miniature Australian Shepherd who’s spent the last six months living with Jane at Aussie Friends Rescue. Unlike Ginger, her life hasn’t been wonderful and she’s afraid of people in general, so we’ve got some issues to work through. I’m hoping we can get past them and she and Joey can spend as much time together as Lucy and Ginger did. I’ll let you know how we do.