As this year closes, I think of Regis and Ginger.  They are my two beloved red kids I lost this year.

Regis.  He was a lovable, spunky old guy when I adopted him from a west-coast shelter in December of 2005.  He passed on January 4, 2009. I imagined he had spent most of his life with someone who put him in the back of the pick-up truck whenever he went to town. And he probably spent his days and nights outside. He was still intact and lifted his leg in the house. It wasn’t too hard to housebreak him, but it wasn’t too easy, either. He was a good ol’ dog and always gave the other red boy in the household a hard time.

Here he is on his last birthday.  I gave him a Valentine’s day Birthday.  This was on February 14, 2008.

When Regis passed, I needed to hear the song, “Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine.”  I was lucky.  After I took his body to the crematory, I stopped at the Borders nearby and they had that album by Tom T. Hall.   It ended up that all the songs were good listening and remind me now of Regis.  But especially the Old Dogs song.

When my dogs pass, I write.  I write about the experience of helping them become free from the pain and body they’re in.  It’s always such an emotional experience, and writing about it puts my feelings somewhere.  I haven’t re-read either writings this year.  But tonight is the first time I’ve listened to the album I put together for Ginger.

This is Ginger’s signature pose.  She loved putting her head up.  “I’m beautiful!”  I think that is why the song “Everything Is Beautiful” came into my head and I sang it to her as we made our final drive to the vet’s office.  She was struggling to breathe.  I tried to comfort her and me.   So that was the first song I put on her album.

Ginger was a beautiful Doberman.  I adopted her the same month as Regis, and there is a blog entry somewhere after 11/10/09 on her passing.  When I left her body at the cremetory, I went to get the album with “Everything Is Beautiful” on it, but since Regis’ passing, Borders at that location, no longer sold music.  The times, they are a’changing.

That was another song I added to Ginger’s album.  I decided to go home and put songs together on a Ginger album.  Now that the internet’s available, that is so doable, and works better for me through the grieving and remembering process.   As the days passed, songs came into my head about and from her.   These are the ones so far.  If others come along, I will add to these.

01 – The times they are a changin – Blackmore’s Night
01 – Youre Beautiful – James Blunt
04 – Shooting Star – Bad Company
07 – Everything Is Beautiful – Ray Stevens
09 – Cara Mia (Studio) – Narvel Felts
12 – Ticket To Ride – Beatles
13 – Shooting Star – by Guy Davis
17 – Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra Thats An Irish Lullaby (J R  Shannon) Cathy Scherer Stubbs

Like writing, music brings me through a lot.  It certainly can evoke feelings.  Tonight is the first time I’ve listened to these songs, and they got me bawling.  I know exactly why each one came to me, as it represents something about my beautiful girl.

I also kept hair and because they were both ill, I made paw prints in clay while they were still going strong.  I need to do that for my others.  It’s a little something extra to touch.  Because they have touched me in so many ways, each day they were with me.

I miss you two.