Love At First Sight

I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on Velvet. Not velvet as in the fabric; no, I'm talking about Velvet the wonderful dog we had as kids.

Somehow Debbie had finally begged, pleaded, cajoled and whined enough to convince Mom and Dad that she was ready to get a dog, so we headed off to the Humane Society on Macklind Avenue in St. Louis. Debbie carefully reviewed all of the dogs before selecting Velvet.

Velvet was a beautiful puppy; mostly black with a patch of white on her chest. She was energetic and playful. I will never forget watching her lick Debbie's fingers through the bars of her crate; her brown eyes sparkling with joy at the attention she was getting.

Debbie, like the rest of us, fell in love at first sight and Velvet came home to live with us.

Velvet was a great dog. She was a mutt of some sort; part lab mixed with who knows what else. The vet suspected she had some beagle in her, as well. Mostly, though, Velvet was just a bundle of love.

Velvet used to help Patches - our rather promiscuous, seemingly perpetually pregnant cat - carry her litters of kittens from one hiding place in the house to another. We'd laugh as we watched Patches walk by holding a kitten by its scruff in her mouth followed immediately by Velvet carrying another of the kittens by its scruff.

Velvet loved going for car rides, but quickly learned the route to the vet's office and would cry and quiver as we made our way to the office for an appointment.

Technically, Velvet was Debbie's dog, but she was a family prize. Velvet was always thrilled to see anyone and had a lifetime habit of urinating when she got very excited greeting guests. We tried to take her out shortly before we knew we were expecting anyone, but that didn't seem to make much difference. She still got excited and left us with a wet spot to be cleaned. I remember Warren Bless scooping Velvet up as she greeted his arrival for a visit. It proved to be a problem as Velvet wet the front of his shirt. In true Warren fashion, though, he just laughed and borrowed one of Dad's shirts.

Debbie moved out to get married shortly after graduating from high school, but Velvet stayed. Velvet slept on my bed virtually every night - usually taking more of the bed than she left for me. I didn't mind, though. Velvet loved unconditionally and snuggled against me. She listened attentively as I talked about whatever was bothering me and always finished with an encouraging snuggle or lick.

I eventually moved out, too, but Velvet stayed. Velvet lived for a very long time. One of my more painful memories was the time I said goodbye to Velvet as I left from a visit. I lived hours away and knew that this would almost certainly be the last time I saw Velvet. She was old, and it showed in so many ways, but she still had plenty of wags in her tail as I stroked her hair and hugged her.

I stopped my car at the end of the drive and cried. I cried for a long time as I reflected on how much of my life I had shared with Velvet.

My suspicions proved to be true and Velvet died shortly after that visit.

Velvet is buried out on the farm, surrounded by other beloved canine companions that have also died through the years. While many of those other dogs held unique and special places in Mom and Ted's lives, none of their deaths impacted me the way Velvet's had.

My beloved pup Sadie reminds me of Velvet in so many ways. She snuggles up between Diane and my legs on our bed each night; taking as much real estate on our queen-size bed as we will allow. She always has a warm and loving greeting for me whenever I get home. She even resembles Velvet a bit; with her large, warm, brown eyes, black hair and small patch of white on her chest.

Sadie captured my heart the first time I saw her, too.

Just like Velvet; it was love at first sight.