Dog knows not her time...

This one hits a little closer to home. While I was away at college, my parents obtained a small dog. A poodle, in fact. Not a toy poodle, not a put-my-foot-hair-in-a-bow poodle, or anything like that. Just a sweet, small dog. [I say "obtained" because I don't remember the exact circumstance, but she was a gift from a family and my parents weren't exactly soliciting for a dog at the time.]

This dog, Charlotte, had many quirks. She would "sing" whenever music played. She would "SING" when you sang "Old Macdonald Had a Farm." She would lick your arm up and down until it was sticky and you had to take a bath. Actually, she'd lick you anywhere you had open skin.

Soon, she became my grandmother's companion. Mimi was living alone, and Charlotte provided that friendship, companionship, and sense of responsibility that everyone craves. Charlotte was faithful, always obedient, and for the last few years slept at Mimi's feet.

So this quick and incomplete eulogy is all to say - after the fam (including Charlotte) returned home from visiting us over Thanksgiving, Charlotte sadly passed away. She had developed a cough/choke while at our house, and a check-up at the vet revealed nothing serious. Unfortunately, it was. Whether it could have been prevented, we don't (and will never) know. But we will miss Charlotte, her wacky ways, and her sweet love.