One of the craziest moments for Loren and me involved our dog Molly. Thirteen years ago, we adopted Molly, a terrier-shepherd mix, at PetSmart through an organization called HALO. She rode home on my lap in our Toyota.
Initially, Molly slept in an area we gated off near the side of our bed. One night, Molly pooped in her area and, desperate to escape, leaped over the gate toward our mattress. To stifle the smell, Loren lit a purple gas lamp candle sitting on our dresser. The candle’s flame set off a smoke detector. And Molly dreads no sound more than one piercing from a smoke detector. She seeks to escape to the backyard and position herself in the furthest possible space from the noise.
Molly has her bad habits, but the happiness she carries into a room undoubtedly outweighs the rest. One classic picture shows her on her hind legs reaching atop a changing table to check on our daughter, a newborn at the time. During our daughter’s first Fourth of July, we watched fireworks in the car while she cried in her carseat and Molly barked simultaneously. In nearly every family picture, she appears in the background as if she invented the concept of the photobomb.
I call her a dog from the streets to characterize her toughness. She never backed down from a fellow canine no matter the size of her opponent. As if she were mimicking a wrestling move, she once stretched out her leg and paw to pin down a rowdy dog in a corner. She once inexplicably got her paws on a bag of Halloween candy, devoured too much of it and left traces of wrappers strewn around the house. We fed her a piece of burnt toast and she shook off the incident as if it were no big whoop.
When Loren worked at PetSmart, she took Molly to the office. Our website displays a classic moment of them on the job. Yes, Molly chewed up two office chairs and peed in front of the company president’s door. Yes, she ripped up our bedroom carpet at home while I imagine our cat snickered at the chaos. But we needed a new carpet anyway.
Our friend Violet once said she believes dogs are angels. To this day, the idea fascinates me. I can’t think of another living being that consistently displays angelic behavior more than man and woman’s best friend. And dogs often maintain this divine demeanor even in the face of flawed humans. In fact, Molly stayed in good spirits even after a groomer mistakenly shaved off most of her fur. Working as a television reporter convinced me that viewers often care more about stories on animals than people. After all, dogs don’t cut you off on the road, act like hypocrites, forget to say thank you or produce awful movie sequels simply to earn a quick million bucks.
I remember talking years ago with a friend who lost her cat to old age. My friend regularly attended church and clearly believed in God. However, she struggled to understand any concept which might be associated with a pet’s afterlife. I told her I believe pets are “God’s creatures” and because he created them, he created a place for them after they left us. The idea appeared to help console her.
I don’t know if dogs are angels, but their loving spirits have moved them over the decades from the barn house, to the backyard and to the bedroom. They carpool with us, stroll through stores and receive treats in the drive-thru of Starbucks. Dogs rule YouTube and Instagram. In an era of Facebook friends, dogs are true companions. And when the doorbell rings, they alert us an Amazon package has arrived faster than the company’s phone app. We dress our dogs up. We honor them on bumper stickers and personalized license plates.
They almost always want to be near us when others don’t or when we hate everyone else. They don’t care if we smell, if our butts look big or if we cover them in bed sheets simply to learn how quickly they can escape. They accept people will forever blame them for farts.
They don’t judge us for our bank accounts or the cars we drive. In return, all they seek is a meal, kindness, our company and the occasional tennis ball.
Molly’s passing this week broke my heart. I don’t know if she was an angel in the true biblical sense. However, I’m confident she now runs with the angels and watches over us like always.
