Legends Never Die

Heroes get remembered, but legends never die – George Herman “Babe” Ruth

Yesterday, when I arrived in Biarritz, I received an email from my mom letting me know that she was having to put the family dog to sleep after a year plus battle with cancer. Millennium Irish Crème, or Millie, was born on January 1st, 2000, hence the name. She was never thin. In fact, she was always quite the porker and from the early days she became affectionately known as Chubbs.

In many ways, Millie had the personality of the daughter that my mom never had and a granddaughter to my Nana – she was spunky and sweet and loved her food. She loved meat, especially bacon. She loved the vegetables my mom planted, evidenced by the fact that WE never actually ate said veggies, only Chubbs did. She was the Kobiyashi of dogs, able to eat massive amounts of food, and her ability to eat with divine swiftness will likely never be broken.

She loved her belly rubs until the very end. Although she had several tumors around her belly she was not afraid to flip onto her back for a good belly rub as she had so quickly every day of her life. She never lost her personality – a testament to the fact that the only thing that gets in the way of us living forever is our bodies’ failure to cooperate. She began to lumber a little more slowly for her ball, or dig around a little less, but the inquisitiveness (and constant appetite) never faded.

Chubbs had been sick for a while, but when she passed the doctor’s predicted time of survival I assumed she had just eaten her Wheaties and beaten the disease. However, she took a turn for the worse over the weekend and her time had come. It is a sad day for everyone who knew Millie.