I am sure that title raised a few eyebrows but soon you will realise the reason.

Today I lost my best friend.  My dog, Amadea.

Picture it, Edmonton, February, 1993, 2 giddy gay boys in the pet store checking out the fur balls on their lunch break and this little nose presses up against the glass and tilts its head to the side.

I was had. Simple as that.

Move ahead to 14 February, both my boyfriend and I, at the time, were working and he called and asked if I wanted to lunch together¹ and I said sure.²

We sat in the food court eating our Chinese Buffet³ and my boyfriend seemed to be acting funny.  He passed it off as a bad day handed me my Valentines card and took a mouthful of noodles.

I open the card and it has the usual mushy stuff. At the bottom of the card it said, "Turn Around".

There standing behind me was this little critter in the hands of one of the Pet Store employees, she handed me the little fluff ball and said, "Congratulations, it's a Girl!"

I got teary.

We brought her home that night, completely unprepared.⁴ I put her down on the bed, on my pillow to be exact, she was seriously only the size of my hand, while we went to the storage room to grab a box and an old blanket to make a "make-shift" bed for her.

We grab all the supplies and tools and head back to the bed room.

There she is all curled up on my pillow where I had left her and 4 little nuggets of poop on my boyfriends pillow.

We looked at each other and burst out laughing.  Right there her nickname became Pooper.  Throughout her life no matter how much we worked with her and trained her she always and poop issues.

Amadea⁵ has had a busy life but she has also been an amazing teacher.

She had the most amazing temperament I have ever seen in a dog. When we took her for her first vet check up, she was laying on my lap so complacent and carefree.

A big German Shepard came up and sniffed her out, she didn't flinch, it started to bark, she did not even bat an eye lash.

She also taught me a lot about myself and how important it was that I learn patience.

After my relationship with my boyfriend dissolved my living conditions were not really conducive to Amadea and I living with each other, however, my Aunt was more than excited to baby sit Amadea for me while I worked things out.  Well that turned into a permanent relationship for the past 14 years.

Amadea was a working dog, she earned her keep. She would go to work with my Aunt everyday and was a huge asset in the therapy of my Aunt's patients.

I don't want to brag; this pup had the ability to make the toughest guys melt like butter.  She was a good dog.

One summer when I was living with another partner I got to have Amadea with me while everyone else was on holiday, instead of putting her in a kennel.

We had 3 other dogs and the 4 of them got along fantastically even though their personalities were all very different.  It was also really good to see Amadea interact and socialise with other dogs, she was often quite aloof. It also taught her "you better eat up or it will be gone!"

As Amadea got older she developed Epilepsy⁶ then her back end went⁷ and then her eyesight and hearing.

My Aunt kept Amadea around probably way too long and probably for selfish reasons but yet I can't honestly say I blame her because Amadea loved unconditionally and was always your best companion.

Today though, the decision was made and Amadea was let go.

She was the last bit in that chapter of my life. to move on and now her spirit is free to roam as she pleases without the confines of a physical form. 

That boyfriend I was with, that got Amadea for my, passed away suddenly a few years back and so now from that family there is only me left.

If they are floating around out there I hope she poops on his pillow to say, "Hi I am back!"

1. we both worked in the same mall, managers in different stores at opposite ends of the mall↩
2. We were so joined at the hip when I look back it makes me sick! But I digress.↩
3. it was cheap↩
4. My boyfriend was only able to swing the whole deal last minute.↩
5. I had always talked about a boy dog and naming him Amadeus, but my BF was convinced that we were chosen by this little creature so we accepted the invitation and brought her home and just changed the name↩
6. and seeing her have a seizure would rip my heart out↩
7. not in the poop department but really that never changed she would poop where she wanted to↩