Finally on Wednesday, my friend Christa helped me get her to the vet, as she had started to have a really hard time breathing. I knew now that there was something really wrong. As it turns out, her heart was greatly enlarged, and her little lungs were filled with fluid. When I went back a few hours later with my mom to the vet’s, she died. They said she had a dog heart attack. Truth be told, it was a really traumatic experience, but I am glad that she did not suffer for a long time.

I am simply brokenhearted. I loved that little dog so very much. It’s true what they say – dogs really are man’s best friend, and she was one of mine. Mazie was 11 years old. She came into our family on Christmas day, 1996. She was my mom’s dog first. Dad packed all of us up into the car and we went to the house of a lady he knew who bred Chihuahuas. Mom picked Mazie out of the litter, and she curled up right in my mom’s neck. She was so sweet and tiny; on New Year’s day she got to come home with us. 

There were so many things that she loved; at my parents’ house, inevitably we could find her in the mornings lying in the sun in the dining room. She was such a sunbather. Any patch of sunlight was where she loved to be. She also loved to snuggle in any blanket that might be lying around. I think she just assumed any blanket was all for her. She was just a natural burrower. We also always had cereal together in the mornings. I would always find her waiting faithfully for me and she would get a handful of cheerios that she would eat on the rug in the kitchen. 

More than anything, she just loved her family. She was definitely picky about who she liked. She was not really sociable, and it took a long time for her to warm up to people. But once you were in with Mazie, you were in. She just wanted to sit soooo close to me, always on the left side, for some weird reason. She was content just to be still and hang out.

It was right before Simon and I got married that Mazie came to live with me. I think Simon was a little unsure about all this. I swore up and down that once we were married, Mazie was NOT going to sleep with us. This lasted about three nights; Mazie was pretty mad about being kept in her pen and would bark bark bark all night. So finally Simon told me to go get her and bring her into our room. And that was the end of that. So she slept with us every single night, at the foot of the bed, until sometime in the middle of the night when she would creep up and get under the covers. I really think she thought she was human.

We also taught her how to enjoy riding in the car. She really hated it until she came to live with us. I took her all kinds of places, hiding in my handbags. She would poke her little head up and peek out from time to time, always quiet as a mouse. When we would go out to my mom and dad’s, it was like she knew we were getting close, and she would start to yelp.

Mazie, my dear little Mazer-tater, I miss you terribly. You were such a good dog, such a big part of our lives, and I know you loved us. I know you loved Jude, too, and knew that he was partly your baby as well. We all know that Jude adored you as well, and always reached out for you. You were patient with him, and let him tug on your ears. I’m grateful that you liked him, as I was really nervous about how you would accept our dear new addition. I know that we will never forget you. You were a special dog.