Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tribute to Ginger

April 30, 2012 was not a good day for the Farrell family.  Sadly, we had to have our beloved pet Ginger put to sleep.  She was a precious, fiesty, loving companion.  She was my shadow.  Ginger was a protector and friend. 

Before my diagnosis with breast cancer, Ginger would jump up wherever I was laying and sprawl across my chest---something she had never done before and never done since---and lay there.  I would push her down, and she would come right back up.  It was as though she knew I was sick and knew where the sickness was.  Weeks later, I would be diagnosed with breast cancer and she NEVER left my bedside. 

I was bed ridden for quite some time, and Ginger stayed on the bed with me (or the couch) through the whole day.  When anyone got close to me, she would snarl and growl at them.  If I moved, she would perk up, look at me or come up to my face and sniff or nuzzle me, than go and lay down again next to me.  The family had a life to continue living and while I was alone in the room, she was there, right by my side.  I told her my fears of dying and leaving the family all alone.  I told her my concerns about the financial difficulty we would be in due to my illness.  I told her everything........and she listened.  As I got better, she would go for walks with me----and not pull on her leash as she always did.  It was as if she knew I wasn't strong enough to hold her back, so she just didn't pull.  She meant the world to me.

Ginger was the kids best friend.  They waited so long for a dog and for mom to convince dad that we needed a dog.  When dad came home from work one day(he worked out of town during the week and came home on the weekends), he carried with him our precious new pup.  She was approximately one year old at the time, and he had adopted her from the pound.  What a joy-filled day it was!!!  She loved all the attention from the kids, but from day one, she attached herself to me.  The kids were kinda jealous, but somehow she and I connected.  Maybe she sensed the similarities in our personality.  We were both stubborn, dominate females.  :)  

She knew we saved her from death and loved us for it.  She was spoiled rotten from day one.  We couldn't help it. :)  Ginger made the kids feel safe at night when dad was gone.  She made them feel happy and loved when she greeted them with kisses and much tail wagging when they would come home from school.  Bad days just melted away when Ginger loved on you.  She was a confidant to us all.  I am sure Ginger went to her doggy heaven knowing many secrets.  She was a sense of security on so many levels. 

Ginger also had a bit of a mean streak.  She HATED squirrels!  She tried to own the neighborhood by letting all the other dogs know that she was the Alpha female in the hood.  She barked at every person who came to our door---snarled at a few too!  She detested being told that it was time to go to bed.  Especially when Brianna told her that.  She would growl, snarl, bark and snap when Brianna would mention it.  She didn't like males in hats.  She didn't like little kids and she hated other dogs, but she LOVED all of us!  Unconditionally.  :)

She was an incrediby smart dog too!  She wowed many people with all of her tricks!  Shake, sit pretty, bang--dead dog and many more.  She would do just about anything for people food.  She would be in the livingroom or bedroom while someone was in the kitchen and she would hear the tiniest piece of something fall on the floor and come charging out into the kitchen to retrieve it for herself.  (It did save cleaning the kitchen floor so often.) :)

Many funny memories with her too.  Like the time she peed on Brians pillow because he came home late and scared her.  It was dark and he didn't see it and well, laid down.  Needless to say, he was up and out of the bed VERY quickly!  Or the time she came charging down the hall and into the livingroom, misjudging the height of the coffee table as she ran under it----or I should say, ran right into it.  She sat there dazed a few seconds, shook it off and charged on. :)  Then there was the time, actually the first night we had her, when, during the middle of the night she jumped up on Easton's bed and got her face right in his.  He woke up and being as he was only 3 years old, forgot we had a puppy and started screaming bloody murder.  We jumped out of bed, invisioning the dog mauling Easton, but there she was hiding under his bed, with a pile of--well you know--on the floor next to the bed.  Guess Easton's scream scared the p_ _ p out of her.  :) 

She loved to torment Brian.  I would be sitting in the breezeway near the back door, and she would go in the livingroom or bedroom and pester him to let her out---eventhough I was sitting right there.  It was SO funny. 

Ginger will be sorely missed in our household.  She was the best dog our family could have had.  Thanks Ginger for all the great memories, for your loyalty and for your unconditional love to us all.

1 comment:

  1. I am commenting here to let you know that you won a personalized stamp from PSA stamps on the BoBunny Blog!!! We announced it about a week ago and since we hadn't heard from you, wanted to try contacting you this way. Send your contact info to megan@bobunny.com and we'll get things rolling for you to create your personalized stamp. Congrats!!!

    ReplyDelete

I am so very honored that you would take the time to visit my little blog. I am just learning how to blog, so please be patient with me as I don't know how everything works. I do moderate all the comments before they are posted, so your comment will not be posted immediately, but will eventually be posted with my approval. I will read EVERY post! What you have to say is important to me. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Now, GO CRAFT!! :D