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written by Heather Butterfield.

We lost her today, the dog that never wanted us to leave her. I remember the time we left her in a kennel. I walked her back to put her in her cage but she wouldn’t go in. We tried pushing her back to quickly shut the door but she wrapped her front paws around my arm and whined. It took two other people to get me loose. While we were gone for a week she wouldn’t eat and started passing blood in her urine.

We never left her with strangers again. She was an extremely intelligent, sensitive soul that anything that was unknown strongly affected her. No matter where she was, when we left her she would shred her blankets and bed as if to say, “I’ll show you!”

I remember when we brought her home as a pup. She mourned & whined for her sister and parents for two days. She barely moved from her spot against the door that we brought her through and into our lives.

When she was sick, she never wanted to cooperate. She couldn’t bear being confined. She once injured one leg and the vet said, “No stairs.” But Ripley did not want to be left. We camped out in the living room but if we had to go up or down stairs, she had to go with us.

We blocked the stairs with baby gates, chairs, boxes etc. but nothing deterred her. She would move whatever we put there or leap over it like a gazelle (bad leg and all). She gradually became so depressed, she wouldn’t eat, only take water, which threw her adrenal glands out of whack. We knew we couldn’t keep her from being with us. She never wanted to be left behind.

I swear this dog was half human. She understood almost everything we said her. She jogged with my son, played catch from long distances and loved hide and seek. She sat on the sofa like a person and when she slept, had to be covered up. I can’t tell you how many times I would go to my son’s room and find her in his bed while he was at the computer. Her head would be on his pillow and she was covered with his blankets.

If we didn’t cover her, she tried to cover herself. As she got older she slept with me and my husband as if she knew time was short and she wanted to be close to her, “Mom and Dad.”

She was hard to get to know and so protective of us. But once she got used to a new person, she was your friend forever and never forgot you. If we confined her to a room when people she didn’t know came over, she howled and howled until one of us had to leave the company and go be with her, the little dog who didn’t want to be left behind.

She was so sweet with us, had a lovely face with warm brown eyes and wanted her scarf and collar on at all the times. Once she bothered my son so much he had to go hunt for her scarf, which had fallen off. She was so happy when she got it back. She loved to go in the car for rides as all dogs love to do.

Near the end we had to lift her into the car but she always tried. All Ripley had to do was see me put my shoes on. That was her cue to start whining and never stop until we took her with us or left the house. She didn’t want to be left behind. If we left her, when we returned, the garbage would be everywhere and her bed or blanket shredded.

I think my little “Cookie” is mourning too. She looked all over for Ripley tonight. Ripley didn’t need any toys to play with as when we got Cookie, she had the ultimate toy. They played to together, noisily barking at each other. Once I was up reading till 3 am and they thought this was a good time to play.

I had to turn the light off and go to bed so they would settle down and not wake up everyone else. As Ripley is a Doberman and Cookie a Shih-tzu their playing was pretty exciting. Ripley could place Cookie’s whole head in her mouth. They loved each other this unlikely pair.

Ripley helped me with the boys too. When my second son was a teen and experimenting with cigarettes, she helped me corner him in the bathroom until he gave them up. She always alerted me when he came in too late so I could get up and confront him.

nce she helped protect my sister- in- law from a stalker who tried to get into her house.

We knew she had health problems but thought we would have 1 to 2 more years with her.
When we took her to the Vet ER and had to leave her, they said she howled all night and tore up her blanket. We knew what she would do when we left her. They had her stabilized and she was so much better when we took her home the next morning but she was only home a couple hours when we had to take her back. While they took “Rip” back to examine her, I sat in the waiting room and knew this was when she leave us, this sweetheart who never wanted to left behind. Have you ever been in a room with crying men?

My three sons, ages 29, 28 & 25 plus my husband. We were a pitiful bunch. Though sedated, she knew we were there and watched us and tried to raise up several times. As we each said goodbye, my heart tore for her then crumbled for the boys who lost their dear friend and were left behind. I wish she could have died at home where she felt safe and comfortable instead of a place she hated. We took her home to bury her as I didn’t want to leave her, this little dog who never wanted to be left behind.

I picture Ripley nibbling on Cookie, or licking me in the face when she found me in a game of hide and seek. I picture her running through the snow or playing with her front legs on the floor and her bottom in the air…………my Ripley……….There’s two dog stockings hanging from the mantle………. How long does the hurt last?

We buried her in the flower garden so she’d always be with us, this wonderful dog who never wanted to be left behind.

For Ripley, age 11 who died from heart failure on 29 November 2007

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