Sadly my mom recently broke the news that their Missy dog has died. I am heartbroken.
That black lab, bit younger than my son, grew up with my kids, providing much love and entertainment.
When I first heard about her, I thought my parents had lost it. It’s called the empty nest syndrome.
My brother and I left home and got families of our own. So my parents got a dog.
My Parents Spoiled Missy
Apparently my parents were broke when they raised us.
They suddenly had more money when we left the house and used it to spoil that dog rotten.
I could not believe how that dog was pampered above and beyond what my dauchschund got while I grew up.
I used to tease them all the time about it and they’d laugh and shrug their shoulders.
My Sister?
Mom first introduced to her to me as Missy Ann.
I looked at Dad. Missy Ann? He just smiled.
Ann is my middle name. Often Mom would say, “Now Missy Ann, this is your sister, Laurie.”
My sister, the dog? I always wanted a sister…but really.
Now I finally had a sister and it was a black lab that looked at me adoringly with soft brown eyes.
“My sister” did not know how to behave.
Missy helped Mom weed the garden
She was a great imitator. When Mom pulled up weeds in the garden, Missy helped…by pulling up flowers from the garden.
This dog was so spoiled, she had the entire sunroom for her bedroom.
Missy took over the Sunroom
We’d joke the couch was the queen size bed, the love seat was the double, and the chair was the twin bed.
That used to be my hang out room to read books when the kids were asleep and my dad had the tv on.
It would be at night and Missy wasn’t sure about me laying on her queen size bed.
Then if Mom and I got to talking in the sunroom at night, Missy felt all disturbed and rumpled because we were interrupting her sleep.
Missy liked hair bows
Whenever we’d visit for a week from Wichita Falls while my kids were toddlers, I’d do my daughter’s hair and put a bow in it.
Missy would get so excited every morning when it was time to do hair. I just knew she wanted a bow in her hair/fur too. We had great girl times together!
Missy loved to play ball
We’d have so much fun playing out back. She liked to run with the ball during baseball! (See header photo)
After we moved to San Antonio, my parents went on a cruise with my brother and his wife.
Missy stayed a week with us
They left Missy with us.
That was a blast…a positive blast for us but a negative one for Slipper kitty, our cat.
I kept telling the cat to stay upstairs but she wouldn’t listen to me.
She had to find out for herself we had a doggie guest.
Slipper could hold her own though. She had no front claws but slapped Missy in the face one time and Missy ran away crying.
Hmmmm….those black labs can really have an overactive imagination.
While Missy stayed with us, we had fun playing in the backyard and going for walks.
When my parents picked her up, she happened to look up in our two story foyer and saw the giant teddy bears in the second floor window.
She went bonkers! Adoring stuffed animals, she wanted those bears.
Missy brought Miss Dolly to my daughter
My daughter has had a soft pink dolly since she was a baby. It went everywhere with her.
When we were at my mom’s when she was about 5, Missy found Miss Dolly (the soft pink dolly) in the bedroom, picked her up in her mouth, went to the sunroom where my daughter was, and dropped Miss Dolly in my daughter’s lap.
One Christmas my mom gave my kids stuffed animals for Christmas.
Missy acted so hurt that she didn’t get one too. Ever since I would give her a stuffed animal for Christmas.
When we moved out of our house in San Antonio last year, we stayed with my parents for a week while preparing to leave for Virginia.
Missy missed us when we moved to Virginia
Missy seemed rather disrupted by all the extra activity of having us live there for a week.
She didn’t get any sleep at first but quickly got acclimated.
By the time we left, she missed us.
Dad said she wouldn’t sleep at night well. She was looking for us.
She used to lay at the front door waiting for us.
Whenever she saw a van like ours come up the street she went bonkers.
Except we haven’t been able to go back.
My parents won’t be coming here.
Missy was invited to visit us in Virginia
Virginia is dog heaven.
I told my parents they should put Missy on an airplane and send her over.
She’d have a blast walking all the nature trails through the nearby woods and river with us.
She’d love DOG street in Colonial Williamsburg.
I really, really, really wanted to treat her to all the fun dog stuff in Virginia.
We miss Missy
My kitty died a month before we moved. Now Missy is gone.
Two beloved pets leaving warm memories within a year and a half of each other. I miss them a lot.
