This run's for you, Sweet Pea!

When you decide to get a pet, you know that at some point you will face that awful day when you find out your pet's time has come. When I was born, my family had two dogs--both miniature poodles. Both lived to be 18 years old. I remember when the younger of the two had to be put to sleep. I was 16 years old--I held her when they gave her the shot. I couldn't imagine life without a dog--and didn't really have to, because a short month later, we got Sweet Pea. She was born into the "showdog" world, but could neither perform nor breed, because she had a heart murmur and a bum leg. My family was lucky to adopt Sweet Pea, and she was the love of my life! A true "dog" (rolling around in the mud, etc), yet sophisticated enough to learn an assortment of vocabulary -- "chicken", "cookie", "go", sock", "potty on the grass" to name a few. Somehow I thought she'd live to be 18, too. But that was not the case. The heart murmur caught up with her. In many ways, hearing that your dog is gone is somewhat surreal. You know it will happen, but you're never ready for it. Sweet Pea will always live in my heart. She will live on in my life other ways too; she is the inspiration for my first email address, I insisted on incorporating Sweet Pea flowers in my wedding bouquet, I once drew her portrait which currently hangs on my wall (see pic below), and the memories, which are countless. It's hard to believe she's gone.

I want to dedicate this weekend's half-marathon to Sweet Pea. She was just over 13 years old. The race is just over 13 miles long. It's simple: one mile for each year of her life. I thought about skipping this craziness this weekend (ie. beyond cold temps and a 2 hour commute for me), but I am going to be out there--for Pea. Thinking about her will help me get through it. She was the best dog I could ask for!! And now, for some visuals...

In Loving Memory of Sweet Pea...

October 8, 1993 - February 5, 2007