Jump to content

16 Years Ago The Legacy Started


MP_the4pack

Recommended Posts

Twenty years ago I started my spiral into greyhound ownership with my first dog Brindle.

The chipping started 19 years ago with Topaz.

 

Then just a few years later, 16 years ago today, at the tender young age of 5, I lost Topaz to liver disease.

 

I could not have been more blindsided than if someone hit me with a baseball bat.

 

Topaz2.jpg

 

I had no time to prepare for something like this. She was supposed to be with me another 10 years. I never even thought of what to do with the bodies of any of my furkids should I lose them. She's the only one buried in the back. All the others are cremated.

 

She was an incredibly silly, goofy girl. So full of life.

 

Still in a tailspin 3 weeks later, I went out to get another dog for Brindle. I came across a little black girl who's name was Onyx. Someone had told me about her in Sept, but I questioned why they told me about her. At that point in time I thought 2 dogs was a normal number. Only hoarders had 3 or more. I wasn't interested. But after Topaz died, I was reminded of this little girl. Highly adoptable, cat safe, young, small, but no one wanted her and Onyx sat in the Nittany kennels for 4 months.

So, I figured...........here's a little girl who's name is a gemstone like Topaz. Highly adoptable but has been ignored. And she smiles. (Topaz was a smiley dog) I thought it was karma.

 

I really wasn't ready to adopt emotionally. And that story can be found in several places on the web, Onyx: From Eggplant to Blossom. But to make a very long story short. I ended up loving Onyx as much as anyone could love a dog. And thankfully, she lived to 15 1/2. My longest liver.

 

But........Onyx wasn't silly, goofy or white and black. For two years I always kept an eye out for a parti-girl.

That's when Pearl entered my life. A white and black goofball of a girl. She entered my life almost 2 years after losing Topaz and 3 weeks before I suddenly lost Brindle.

Pearl became my Heart and Soul dog. Pearl was perfect. (for me anyway). I felt that Topaz had a hand in sending her to me. She helped so much when I lost Brindle. Unlike poor Onyx who I had to work so hard to bond with the year after Topaz's loss.

 

On any given day after I lost Brindle, I was perusing the adoption sites, specifically the one that Pearl came from. When I saw the name Half Profit, I wondered if there was a connection between her and Pretty Profit (Pearl). There was. Littermates!! While I originally wanted to keep my pack to two dogs, now I was very interested in having sisters. So up from Fla comes "Diamond".

 

(keeping track so far?)

 

So at this point, the three dogs I've adopted after Topaz's death were pretty much because of her. I won't have adopted Diamond if it wasn't for Pearl, who I would not have adopted if it weren't for Topaz. And Onyx was adopted because of Topaz.

 

I was content for several years. But I always love to look at website at the adoptables, when I came across a teeny tiny wisp of a little white and black girl. I have stopped paying attention to most colors now and pretty much get caught by the white/blacks because of Topaz and my subsequent love of Pearl.

I asked all the right questions, answered all the right questions and Opal entered my life. I was now a 4-pack. All courtesy of Topaz.

 

One thing I noticed of this pack was that although one white/black girl and one black girl were sisters, the two black girls hung together and two white/black girls hung and played together.

It was like that for a blissful 6 years.

 

When I lost Pearl, the first thing I did was started looking at silly goofy white/black girls and adopted Jade. Then I lost Diamond. Then Onyx.

And it was just my two parti-girls. But after a whole year, Jade learned to escape and if I didn't want her to die by car I had to give her back. Opal who had belonged to a 4 pack for most of her young life was now alone and she looked it. I decided to try to veer off the w/b theme and just find a companion. I found a little black girl even smaller than Opal and put in the application. I was interviewed and while I wasn't "officially" approved all indications were I was. The interviewer even asked how soon could I pick her up? So when I got the phone call a week later being denied because of the dog door I threw a fit and got on the internet and started searching. For a white and black girl. Which I found out in the middle of PA.

 

Enter Tanzanite. My upside down clown. When I first met her at her fosters she was in a large crate, roaching. Her tail swaying back and forth like a metronome.

 

A year later as I was once again just looking at pretty cow doggies I came across an older broodie. Crystal Falcon. When I looked at her pedigree I found her to be Topaz's niece. They had identical markings. How could I resist? I adopted Crystal, only to lose her 18 days later to cancer. But for those 18 days I had 3 beautiful cow doggies and one black one. (Emerald)

 

 

Emerald the other current dog I have is the only other dog of a total of 10 other than Brindle that was not part of Topaz's legacy of being a silly goofy white and black girl or attached to a silly goofy white/black girl.

 

 

Topaz, thank you for your legacy.

 

And yes, I still love and miss you very much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:grouphug

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

tiny hada siggy.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:wub:

 

A wonderful story.

 

Rest well, girls.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...