One day in May, 1999 Raymond and I walked into PetSmart for a bag of dog food and came out the proud owners of a sweet black and white puppy. It was an impulse adoption, poorly thought out and totally impractical. But I was in love.
On the way home, we learned on the radio that Shel Silverstein had died, and we decided to name our new little boy Sue, in honor of the song written by Shel Silverstein and sung by Johnny Cash. You know the one.
For the last 11 years, Sue has been my troublesome shadow. He shed like crazy, leaving tumbleweeds of black hair all over the house. When we weren’t home, he liked to sleep on the living room furniture and totally ruined my upholstery. In recent years he developed Cushings Disease, and became an obsessive eater – turn your back on food for a second and it was gone! He drank from the toilet. He peed on the floor. He turned over the trash can. He snored like a chainsaw.
But he was always at my heel. When I walked from one room to the next, Sue came with me. He was there when I made coffee in the morning, there when I did the dishes, there when I cooked dinner, there when I tucked the children into bed. He even followed me into the bathroom! My constant companion.
Today has been a very sad day.
You will be missed, sweet Suey.
