Cream Ruffie
Zay
Even though she was mine, I didn't know what to name her. I remember being in the kitchen talking to my mom and I had said something about it. My mom had thought for a bit, then replied with Minnie Pearl. Now, I had no idea who that was or what the name meant, but she explained to me that she was a very famous comedian at the Grand Ole Opry. Since I couldnt think of a name myself, that sounded just fine. As time went on, we added a "the" to her name. She was from then on Minnie the Pearl and she was just as hilarious as the country comedian. I had this old lion plush toy with a rattle in the tail and one day we found her wrestling around with it so Mom got her video camera and taped the whole thing. Unfortunately for Minnie that lion won the wrestle match.
We originally thought that Minnie would stay tiny forever, but in a Clifford-like story she grew to be much bigger. As she grew we noticed she had a strip of fur down her back that flared out and up, much like a hyena's mane. We would joke and call that her shawl and say she was a hyena-dog. The first time we took her to the vet we asked if he knew what kind of dog she was. He looked her over and in a semi-confused voice said she was special. Now, I know that's a nice way of saying she was a mutt, but to me she really was special.
On a day when my parents had a game of cards planned, we took everything off of our table and set a bowl of fruit in the floor. Out of no where, in the middle of the game, Minnie ran over and took off with an apple out of the fruit bowl. She rolled it around on the floor and munched on it for a while. Much like she chased that apple around, she was also incredibly great at tracking mice. We never had to worry about rodents of any kind in our yard or house with her around, which would make us joke about how she was part cat. She was so good at it, that one morning she dug a hole in the wall where there was a nest. She also would kill any spiders in the house too. All I had to do was show her where one was and she'd take care of it, which was great because I have a major phobia of them.She not only helped with the rodents, but there was a time when my brother and I were stuck on a video game and she helped us figure that out as well. The game was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and there were six clues to this six letter puzzle. My brother and I wracked our brains for over an hour when all at once Minnie came into my room and as soon as we said "Hi Minnie the Pearl," we knew the answer: Pearls! This was before you could just go to the internet and find the solution, so getting the answer was awesome!
Eventually my parents decided to get another dog, she was a "Wal*Mart special" and the girl had explained she came from Kokomo Island. We named her Shiloh Bedaux. She and Minnie got along great when Shiloh was younger, but unfortunately as Shiloh got older they grew apart and as such we had to keep them separate. A few years down the road someone dumped a pug puppy and it wound up at our house. My dad had no idea what the animal was at first, but we brought her in after a while. My dad named her Pugsley, which we didn't think was that popular of a name for a pug, but it turns out it is. Anyway, Minnie was getting older at the age of twelve at the time, but as soon as that puppy came in the house she perked right up. The two were inseparable and grew very close. They were often found curled up together, the pug laying her head on the back of Minnie as they would sleep. Pugsley breathed new life into Minnie and she was the best thing to happen to her and probably the best thing to have around for the last year of her life.
Minnie had turned thirteen on January 28, 2010 and we noticed she was having little fits of not getting around as easily as she could. We figured at her age it was probably arthritis and we tried to keep her as comfortable as possible. About a week before July she suddenly wouldn't bark. Normally, she would bark at any and everything, but not this time. We could only assume that some time during the night she'd had a stroke. We tried our best to nurse her back to health, but unfortunately Minnie passed away on July 4, 2010. She stuck around long enough for my graduation earlier that year and then I guess it was just her time to go. She'd fulfillled her purpose and kept me safe and happy through my schooling and I knew I wouldn't ever forget her. My Dad decided to make her a casket and now she's buried in our yard along with her collar and a few toys, where her spirit can continue to chase the little critters and play. There are times where I can still hear her chihuahua-yodel-bark and I know she's still watching over me. It was just a few years later that Shiloh passed away too. Some day, I hope to be able to meet back up with Minnie again. For now, I know that she along with Buddy and Shiloh are patiently waiting for me to join them and pick up where we left off.
