Goodbye Mercy...

We had just moved into the parsonage of the church that my Dad was Pastor of. A man in the church had given us a full blooded Black Lab I guess as a sort of "welcome to the neighborhood" kind of gesture. My baby brother was three or four years old at the time, and way too small to be able to have any type of fun with the Black Lab, named Spirit. If anyone has seen a Black Lab in person, you would know that even as a young puppy, these dogs are huge. One day after being playfully tackled by Spirit, my baby brother looked up at my Mom and said, "I don't wanna big dog. I wanna little dog!". Not even a day later, a couple of stray dogs wandered into our yard. One was a small dog, and the other was a medium sized red dog. We had mercy on the little dog, and took her in.

That's how she got the name Mercy.

Mercy was a little Pekingese. She was bossy, sassy, and full of personality. She slept with me in my room at night, and snored so loudly that I may or may not have thrown a couple of pillows at her. Mercy became a part of our family very quick. We all loved her. We loved her so much that one Winter, she got out of the fence and ran full speed up the road. My brother and I chased after her for 30 minutes in a foot of snow, trying to get her back. She had fun making us chase her that day. How do I know? Because when we got her back in the house, I swear that I saw a faint smile on her face. Mercy was our little dog. Our first family dog.

Over the last 10 years, Mercy has gotten old. She lost her sight nearly a year ago, and had since been experiencing digestion problems. We had been expecting to her go soon, whether she died peacefully in her sleep or by being put to sleep.

Last night, my baby brother called me to tell me that Mercy had died, but she hadn't died in the peaceful way that we had all hoped for. She had fallen into the pool of my Parent's back yard, and drowned. Since Mercy had lost her eye sight, my Parents had put lounge chairs across the entrance of the deck, to keep Mercy from falling into the pool and drowning. This little redneck method had worked until today, when the wind was gusting at 10 to 15 miles per hour. The chairs blew over, and Mercy got lost.

I want to believe that she committed suicide; that she was tired of being old, and blind...and she just jumped in...ready to end it all.

But I'm pretty sure it didn't happen that way.

This weekend, I have been sad. A family member has died. I'll never hear her annoying snores again, or her yappy little bark. I'll never get to pet her little head, and smell her horrible doggy breath.

People who have never had dogs or a pet for that matter, could never understand how painful it is to lose a pet. This is the first time I have ever lost a pet, and I tell you...it's almost as bad as losing a human family member.

Goodbye Mercy. I've loved you since the very first day you walked into our yard. I'll never forget you, and the joy you brought to our family. We could never replace you, and we will never try to replace you. I know that you'll live on in our hearts and minds. I love you Mercy...and I am going to miss you more than anyone could ever imagine.

Please do not point out the ironic-ness of this picture. I know that had she had a float, she would not have drowned. I also know that this picture reflects her personality in so many ways. A personality that I will miss way too much.This was taken just last month, during one of our big snows. Probably the last picture I ever took of her