When I bought Trixie 17 years ago, I got her at a local pet store. (I know, I hear ya!) Brian’s golden retriever had been hit by a car the week before and he was devastated! I called the local animal shelter, daily, trying to find a small dog for inside the house. Doug refused to fence our yard in and I wasn’t going to take a chance on another “outside” dog getting hit by a car. Anyway, better than a week passed and theanimal shelter never had a small dog. So I went to the pet store and picked out Trixie. The pet store owner said she was 6 weeks old and weaned. She said the “bump” on Trixie’s belly would go away, because they had given her medicine. I took her home and let Brian name her. Doug was mad because he didn’t want a small dog in the house. Brian let Trixie stay in his room one night and he was done with her! Anyway, when I got her home, she did not eat or drink anything for two days! I thought, my God, I have spent $450 on this dog and she’s going to die on me! I rushed her to the vet. He said, she was only 4 weeks old, not 6 and she was NOT weaned! Furthermore, the “bump” on her belly was a hernia. No “medicine” would make it go away. He said to take home, give her warm milk to drink and soft scramble her an egg twice a day. He would do the hernia repair in a couple of weeks. Doug and Brian both groused about how much trouble she was. How I should have gotten a “real” dog; not some little “rat” that was causing so much trouble. Well, you get the idea. Doug would feed her in the mornings, while I got ready for work. I would come home at night and feed her. Except for occasionally throwing her a ball, Brian had checked out of the whole business.  This went on for about a month. One morning, as I walked into the kitchen, Doug was at the stove, scrambling an egg. As I walked in, he said, “I love you, honey.” I said, “Oh, that’s sweet! I love you, too.”  His face turned bright red and he said, “Uh, I was talking to the dog!”  So began 17 years spent happily with our Best Friend! Early this last Friday morning, her little heart gave out and she became an angel.  Rest in Peace our sweet girl! You were truly loved and will be greatly missed! Love, Mama. Stay tuned.