RIP, Daisy Dukey.

My mom's beloved doggie, Daisy, died last month. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but something about being bloated with pee? Mom had to give her diuretics for the past several months to keep her stomach from being distended. She was really suffering, so Mom had to put her to sleep.

Daisy was a crackup. I really enjoyed her. We baby-sat her all the time when my folks went on trips, and it was always an adventure. I've never met a weirder, funnier, quirkier animal in my life. We'll really miss her.

Mom adored Daisy. Daisy felt neutrally about Mom. :) Which thoroughly offended Mom. I just kept telling Mom that Daisy was a cat in a dog's body, so to just pretend that Daisy was a cat. When you think of how aloof cats are, then you really don't get offended when they don't want anything to do with you.

She was scared of rain, thunder, firecrackers, my back steps, and a dark patch on my hardwood floors. She loved blankets. You could get her to snuggle with you if you had a blanket in your vicinity. She loved getting the mail. She would go on walks with you, but when she had walked far enough, she would stop and refuse to walk any longer. She required carrying when she had reached her stopping point. Which was fine, because she was anorexic. She weighed like three pounds. She hardly ever ate. She wouldn't eat crunchy dog food. We always had to feed her the canned, wet kind. Vomit. When she looked up at you, her head flipped way back to where it was, like, parallel to her body. We called it a "flip-top head," like in that old toothbrush commercial. She was a spectacular beggar. If she wanted your food, she would stand on her back legs forever and walk back and forth, side to side... trying to win you over for a bite of human food. She loved sitting in front of the space heater in the den when my mom was down there on the computer or sewing. When she was freaking out about something, she wouldn't whimper or whine. Her eyes would just get enormous, she would start shaking uncontrollably, and she would drool. She was emotionally delicate. She loved escaping and exploring other peoples' garages. She derived comfort from toilets, for some reason. If she was scared of something, she would find the nearest toilet and huddle next to it. She was a funny, funny dog. I know my mom misses her a lot.

For some adventures in Daisyland, click on any of the following:

Crazy Daisy

Daisy Dukey, Thanksgiving 2009 Edition

Naughty Daisy Dukey