The love of my life passed away today

by Melina Trevino
(Austin, TX)

Bailey (1995-2009)

He stole my heart nearly 14 years ago. My boyfriend and I were looking for a German shepherd to love at the Humane Society of Huntsville in 1995. I played with some adult pups who immediately took to me, but felt threatened by my boyfriend. I would've loved to have taken them all home...

We vowed to go back the next week to see if there were other pups who seemed like a good fit. We were walking near the outer perimeter with dogs barking all around when I heard one distinctive bark. It was deep and melodious, not eager and insistent like the others. They all pulled at my heartstrings, but the one bark was the one that stood out for me. I walked near the area where I thought the bark had originated from and looked for the mystery dog. All the pups in the area were barking incessantly except for one golden puppy. Surely, that bark couldn't have come from such a small puppy! When I walked up, he came over to the fence and barked again, just once. It was him! He was the missing piece in my life.

We had a great run together. He never had an "accident", never bit anyone though my nephew, a toddler at the time, loved to poke and prod at him when Bailey was still a pup. Bailey would often keep our older and mischievous husky out of the trash by gently pulling on her ear.... He followed me everywhere, up to the very end.

My mother just reminded me of another example of Bailey's intelligence & kindness - when I was still living in Humble, my mom's dogs would sometimes get a hold of squirrels or other small animals. One day we heard a big commotion in the back yard and we figured the dogs had a hold of a critter of some sort. I ran outside to try to keep them from hurting each other and/or the critter. It turned out that Bailey had something in his mouth and the other dogs were trying to get a hold of it. He kept them all away and ran over to me. We went back into the house (Bailey was an inside dog) and Bailey gently placed a relatively newborn puppy on the ground near me. The precious little puppy was unharmed. The puppy had somehow breached the fences and wandered into our yard. Bailey had saved him. If only I could find a man that loving and loyal!

Bailey and I were walking to the laundry room when his back legs gave out. I didn't know what was wrong so I whispered sweet nothings and kissed him, thinking the moment would pass and he'd hop back up. He died in my arms. I hope I loved him enough. He was an amazing friend and fur baby. I wonder if I could have done anything differently to lengthen his time with me. Not that it matters anymore. All I know is that my heart & soul, my "daemon", is gone. I hope he's curled at God's feet and will wait for me there. I love you, sweet Bailey.