Cujo

I love spending time with my niece Rosie but seeing her makes me miss my dog, Cujo! Cujo was a boxer and Rosie is a beagle. Cujo and Rosie were best friends even though Rosie was an energetic pup and Cujo was getting long in the tooth. They would run around the apartment chasing each other, going back and forth, one direction and then the other, tearing up the rugs and having a grand old time. Cujo was always the chaser and Rosie was the chasee! Cujo would eventually catch up and let out a yelp which I think meant "I gotcha!"
When I took them out for walks together Cujo would get very defensive anytime another dog walked by. She would growl and bark and sometimes pounce on the other dog! It was either her motherly instincts or she just didn't want anybody getting too close to her little friend.
Cujo was a cancer survivor. The doctors removed a tumor from behind her ear and in the process had to remove her outer ear. I bought a Christmas ornament one year that was in the shape of a boxer but it wasn't complete until I removed one of the ears. People still come up to me and say, "I remember you. Don't you have the one eared dog?"
Sadly, my baby girl passed away 2 1/2 years ago. (Shortly after her death I saw the movie Marley and me. I cried my eyes out!)

I find that I miss her the most on warm sunny days. I used to take her on long walks. I would let her off the leash so that she could run and play in the water. Of course I always ended up screaming at her because she never wanted to come back. That damn dog always ran away! I bet that I spent half of her life chasing her or searching for her!
I miss that dog terribly :(
I am grateful for the 10 years that we were able to share together.