A Dog Named Sue

"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened"
~Anatole France~

In September, we had the opportunity to dog sit for a sweet little Dachshund named Sue. We were asked by Ruby, my co-worker, to dog sit. I have become the go to person where I work to dog sit because everyone knows about my love of dogs.

I got Sue after work on a Wednesday and we kept her until Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed taking Sue on walks, cuddling with her, and playing with her. Sue is generally a calm dog and enjoyed being around us. She enjoyed being pet and would even give us hugs! I have never experienced a hug like this from a dog before. Sue would put her head down and into my body and then take her front right leg and put it around my arm. It was really sweet! If I tried to end the hug too soon, she would continue to nuzzle into me until she was finished with the hug. I knew that dogs knew how to cuddle, but I did not know they knew how to hug!


Having Sue stay with us made us want a dog even more! Each time we would come home, Sue would leap for joy. She would dance around and jump as we pet her. The welcome home is unlike any human could ever match and the happiness on her face made us smile. Each time I would return home, I would become excited in anticipation of seeing her.


At night, she slept at the end of our bed on a towel. During the night she would walk in circles and sleep on our feet. Sue would sometimes walk up to my face and sniff me. All of her movements kept me up, but I did not hold it against her. I enjoyed waking up to her and taking her on a morning walk. She would get two morning walks. One when John got up at 6:30 and then one again before I left for work at 7:45. I felt guilty leaving her home during the day and thought about her often. I was glad when the weekend came and we could spend more time with her.


Sunday afternoon was bittersweet for us. We spent the last couple of hours with Sue playing, walking and having fun but, we knew that our time with her was ending soon. It was hard to part with Sue because she became a part of our house and hearts. Returning home for the first time after she had left was depressing. We were greeted to silence and an empty house.


We know that having a dog is not the best decision for us right now, but we still dream about it. When we have more time to be home with a dog, we know we will be great pet parents. We would like a larger dog, but have grown fond of small dogs like Sue (and Bailey).