pip

You were a birthday gift, when I turned 21. You came from a breeder, but were on the way to a shelter because no one wanted the mutant Yorkie you turned out to be.

You were a crazy pup. You marked your territory everywhere – INSIDE. You ate my brand new mac keyboard and leather shoes. You opened up a bean bag chair, ate the styrofoam pellets and pooped snow for days. You climbed baby gates so you could roam free in my apartment.

If the door opened a crack, you took off running. Not to get away, but because it was fun to be chased. My family will never forget meeting Chris and knowing he was a good guy after he chased Pip around the neighborhood for an hour until he returned home, looking quite ragged
by the end of it.

You had so many nicknames. Pip became Pippers, Pipper-Dip, Pipper-Dippers, and Pip Monster. You answered to each one – when you felt like it. 

You moved around with me – a total of five homes. You adapted to each home and roommate quickly. But I was always your favorite. 

 I refused to clothe you, until Becca sent us a dog Gap hoodie. I put it on for a joke, but you didn’t want it off. When I would remove it for washing, you would check each load of laundry to see if it was out of the dryer yet. 

You loved bubbles. You ran around the yard popping as many as you could, flying high up in the air. You looked like an acrobat doing so. 

You loved my family. You never forgot who Becca was, even though she only saw you a few times a year. My parent’s home was Disneyland to you, and you often didn’t want to go home at the end of a visit. Liz and Chris both took care of you at differing times, and you always showed your thanks
with kisses. 

You had several health scares in the form of tumors. But you always recovered like a champ, making it difficult for me to keep you as inactive as possible.

You had a love/hate relationship with the car. You loved where it would take you, but you often did not enjoy the journey. Unless you could get your face out the window – then life was good.

You loved Purina. You followed me around each morning, making sure I wouldn’t leave for work without you. You let me dress you up in ridiculous outfits for the yearly Halloween pet parade. Everyone agreed that the mounted moose head was the best. You loved Miss Debbie – for her treats and back rubs. You learned to love dogs as much as people, even loved one dog so much that you were submissive to him. He rewarded your behavior by letting you lick his lips (miss you too, Tito). You followed me around the building leashless, never letting me leave your sight. You sat through many meetings and made multiple trips to the printer. You loved your giant pillow dog bed in the corner of my cube.

 Having kids in the house changed things for you. We weren’t sure how you would react to children, and in the beginning, you weren’t too sure how to react either. But you soon accepted them into the family and wouldn’t leave their sides when they were infants. That changed when our infants grew to toddlers and could chase you around the house, but you were still faster. The perk of eating a ton of dropped food made up for it.

 You stopped following me around in the morning before work, wanting eight hours of a peaceful house instead. Who could blame you? You played just as hard as our kiddos, and needed to sleep just as hard as them too.

But you were so patient with our boys and their energy. 

You were special to Cameron. You became his older sibling that could do no wrong and you always made him laugh.

You left us suddenly. We were lucky to be greeted by you one last time after a full week of work and school, and then you were gone. Life will not be the same without you.

You were an amazing dog. You were family. And you will be missed.