Wo-Man's Best Friend

When I was 18, I used to go to the Humane Society to visit now and again.  It was always heartbreaking to see so many homeless pets.  I was living with my parents while going to college and they already had  a dog (Jumbo)  and a cat (Balki).  I knew the chances that they would let me bring home another pet were slim, and I wasn't really shopping for a pet, but I still like to visit. I used to dream of getting a Rottweiler and naming her Tequilla (don't judge me).  
On one such visit I saw the cutest puppy.  She was a 4 month old Rottweiler/Lab mix.  She had a schmucky nose from a cold and these sad puppy dog eyes.  From them moment I saw her, I loved her.  I called my dad (knowing that he was probably the best route to getting the "yes" I was looking for).  He told me I already had a dog.  I left and went back to work.  A couple hours later, I got a call from my dad. He told me to come down to the Humane Society.  He'd come down to check her out and apparently had played with her for over an hour and had fallen in love with her as well.  Between the 3  sad puppy dog eyes (me, my dad and the pup), it wasn't long before my mom loved her too.
I brought her home. She showed signs of abuse.  She would pull away if anyone touched her near her rear.  She was afraid to go up and down stairs or through a door way. She was particularly afraid of men.  She had kennel cough.  I needed to give her medication every couple of hours.  Luckily it was cool enough outside that I could take her to school with me and leave her in the car with the windows open enough so she can breathe but not enough for her to make an escape.  I had 2 hour long classes each day and I would go up to the car to let her out, walk her, refill her water, and give her the meds between classes.  After school, I worked as a secretary.  I was lucky enough that I could take her to work with me and she could lay under my desk while I did my thing.   
One day, I got up to school.  I'd walked her and filled her water bowl.  I got her up into the back seat and then took her harness off (which she would chew on if I didn't).  As I said good-bye and went to shut the door she quickly jumped out, with no collar on, and bolted.  I tried to chase after her, but she was way too fast.  I called my mom bawling.  I spent my morning classes looking for her.  I took the afternoon off or work to  put them up around campus.  My mom took a long lunch to help.  We got a couple calls of people seeing her, but no one had her.  I don't think any of us slept that night.  It was awful.  I went to the local shelters and then called them all repeatedly every hour.  I was a wreck.  The next afternoon I called SL County Animal Services (for the bajillionth time).  The lady told me that I wouldn't believe it, but she'd been waiting for me to call because she thought that a man had just brought her in.  She was quarantined with kennel cough.   When I got there, they brought her out and she knocked me over with excitement. Apparently she'd run all the way to Sugar House near my office and a guy there picked her up.  He realized she was sick so he ended up bringing her in.  YAY!   I realized in that 2 days how quickly this dog captured my heart.  We've been through a lot together since then.
Her name evolved (along with my maturity) from Tequilla to Quilla.  She slept on my bed each night. She hiked several peaks with me.  She ran with me while I trained for 2 marathons.  When it was time for me to move out of my parents house with my new hubby, I had a tough choice to make.  She wasn't Jared's biggest fan (she never was completely comfortable around men).  My dad had been traveling most weeks and was only home during weekends.  That meant that my mom was alone. My mom had the time to walk her each day in the gully near their house. I was in the middle of my first year of teaching and hardly had time to eat let alone walk her.  My parents back yard is a dogs paradise.  My back yard is about the size of a dog run.   I made the difficult decision to leave her with my parents.   I knew she was in good hands.  My mom loved her like a grand baby.  Each year they celebrated their birthdays on the same day. (We knew Quilla was some time in November.)   
Over the years, we lost Jumbo (a miniature schnauzer) when he was about 14.  We lost Balki when he was 18.  It helped to have Quilla through those losses.  Quilla slowly went blind from Panis. She had a slow growing benign tumor in her belly.  She took glucosamine to help with her stiff joints, but, at the age of 13, she could still go on 30-60 minute walks.  This summer she was on a health roller coaster feeling better and worse.  That coaster took a bit of a plunge this last week and we knew we couldn't stand to see her suffer.  It was time to say good-bye, just 3 months shy of her 14th birthday.   A heartbreaking choice, but, I think, the right one.   Farewell my Quilla Rose.  You will be missed.

Quilla Rose Grygar 

November 5, 1997- August 18, 2011

"If dogs don't go to heaven, when I die,  I want to go wherever they went."  - Will Rogers