the best damn dog in the whole freakin' world!

She came to me in a time of need, I had recently moved in with my Gram in Glendale, CA, mom could no longer handle me in Oceanside. The first day I got my pup, she ate all my buds..*smiles at the memory*...hence the name BLAZE.

Gram's neighbors were thai people, I think they were planning on eating her...I called over the fence one day to see if he'd be willing to trade that "mutt" for a bag of tangerines, he'd obliged....their grandson, who was 4 at the time had made it a fun game to kick her and hit her with sticks, so I took her in, showed her what it meant to be loved. One day while outside washing my car, the little boy came over, he made a move to kick her, she snapped (did not bite) at him, and gave a nasty growl. Needless to say, he never went to kick her again. Funny thing is tho, she adored that little kid even still....
Everyone that ever encountered her, thought she'd win the Ugliest Dog Contest, hands down. To me, she was the most beautiful creature/friend/confidant, ever to grace this poor excuse of a planet. Her eyes were that of fire and intellegence, her fur was that of brillo pad, her heart was that of gold and love, her mind of great thinking.

A dog that hated baths, but would tromp in a stream or a wave like no other, always within sight of me, always patient with my fumbling two feet on slippery rocks. Her kisses were sparse, she'd rather look you in the eye to convey her love for you....

She'd get out of the backyard, to visit with the neighbors and leave her scent on a nearby bush, always looking for that perfect mate, I'd call her, she'd ignore me, until she...sensed it was time, that this was the last call I'd make for her to "git in there"...*smiles*

when I had my son, Brian, she was ever so loving to him, she adored him even when he got a little rambunctious. Yesterday, when she was nearing her time, she curled up in his room to die. *sniff*...you see, I thought she was pregnant, and older, and not feeling too hot, so I thought she was....pregnant. She wasn't. She was sick. She was distended. She was dying. In my gut I knew, and I know she was trying to tell me that she was hurting, in her own, silent...way. She made no noises of pain, she wagged her tail to cheer ME up. But yesterday she was so out of it, I made the decision to have her put to sleep. I think she knew, because when I was upstairs, curled in a ball sobbing on the floor, she made her way upstairs and gave me one of her sparse kisses.

I woke up this morning Saturday, May 30th 1998, my husband had already had it done, for which I am so grateful, he said he gave her a treat, she took one to make him feel better, ate it dutifully, even tho she was so sick, and eating was not what she wanted...she did it...to please him, to thank him for the gesture. *sniff*..always the lady.

I told my son this morning that Blaze was sick, and that now she's gone...

he looked at me and said..."Blaze is happy now"...children are the closest to god I believe, and I think he's right on the money.
She's happy now.
God Bless You Sweetie

I will forever love you and miss you, Blaze. until we meet again...