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| Posted By : cussedness - 3/23/2007 8:48 PM | I may not be around much for a few days. My dog died. Yes, he was just a dog. But he was 11 years old and for the past seven since my daughter moved out to go to college, he was my only companion.
She named him Leviathan and I shortened it to Levy. He was an alcoholic that could open nearly any bottle he came across. I never had to lock the booze up from the kids, just from the dog.
He was also an accomplished thief. He always had a stash somewhere of things he had stolen.
Levy rarely barked or growled. The noises he usually made sounded like a baby crying. People used to tease me that he was trying to say "mama."
He was a mutt. His daddy was dachshund and pekingnese. His mama was a chihuahua and when we first got him he could curl up inside Sovay's shoe and sleep there.
Sovay had a fear of dogs. She had been utterly fearless until she was attacked by a pack of ferals who came down out of the Angeleus Crest and attacked her. They were hungry and she was food. I had to give up the rottweiler I owned because after the attack, Sovay could no longer cope with having a dog around.
three years later I got Levy. I had read about how people with phobias could get over them by being exposed to the object they feared. So I reasoned that a dog that small would help her get over her fear of dogs.
One day when we had only had Levy a few weeks, I heard her shrieking and Levy snarling, so I rushed into her room. They were faced off across the room from each other with the object of contention, a stuffed toy, laying in the floor between them. I told Sovay that if she could not deal with it, we would give Levy up. Her reply (she was 13) was "It's just sibling rivalry, Mom."
Janrae Frank
I have no skeletons in my closet, they are all hanging from the yardarm.
Once there were three brothers, Brandrahoon the vampire, Isranon called the Dawnhand, speaker to spirits, and Waejonan the Accursed, first of sa’necari. Isranon defied his brothers and was destroyed, his descendants forced into the darkness.
Blood Rites
www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook29989.htm
website
www.janraefrank.com
Darkzone
www.janraefrank.com/Vanilla.1.0.1/ |
| Posted By : von Darkmoor - 3/23/2007 9:21 PM | My condelences, Janrae. A death in the family is still a death in the family no matter whose it is.
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Jason
Ever waltz with the Devil? Or devil with a Waltz? Visit www.vondarkmoor.blogspot.com to find out. |
| Posted By : UnclePete - 3/23/2007 9:22 PM | Sympathies, Janrae, I know how close these guys get to your heart. That was a lovely picture you painted of Levy in those few words.
____________
"The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." --Thomas Jefferson
http://www.creativeguypublishing.com |
| Posted By : cussedness - 3/23/2007 10:16 PM | Thank you.
Janrae Frank
I have no skeletons in my closet, they are all hanging from the yardarm.
Once there were three brothers, Brandrahoon the vampire, Isranon called the Dawnhand, speaker to spirits, and Waejonan the Accursed, first of sa’necari. Isranon defied his brothers and was destroyed, his descendants forced into the darkness.
Blood Rites
www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook29989.htm
website
www.janraefrank.com
Darkzone
www.janraefrank.com/Vanilla.1.0.1/ |
| Posted By : crystalwizard - 3/23/2007 11:27 PM | A family pet is never 'just a dog' or 'just a cat'. A pet is your friend and part of your life.
I am so sorry for you. I have 3 cats and I would be terribly hurt if any of them died. ((hugs)). Hang in there and if you need to talk or just want a shoulder to cry on, I'm right here.
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
Visit my art gallery on art wanted at
http://artwanted.com/crystalwizard
All my books in print:
http://sojourn.omnitech.net |
| Posted By : cussedness - 3/24/2007 12:39 AM | My close friend of ten years, Natalie Daniels, was visiting me at the time of Levy's death. As often happens with writers, when you are at the tail end of a royalty period there is very little money left. My Dutch translator, Mark Prins, had come onto IM with me and insisted upon pay paling me money to take Levy to the vet. I told Mark that all I needed was cab fare. The rest could go on my credit card. He deliberately put some extra 0's onto the amount because he is a kind and generous soul even though his translations had not yet earned out. I asked Natalie to check on Levy because he had retreated into the bathroom. Just as the money came through (Euros count for more than dollars at the moment), Natalie said "He's gone."
Mark insisted that I put the money he had sent to good use in paying contributors to my current anthology and he is writing a Eulogy to Levy to be included at the opening to the anthology I am doing. Mark has written a lovely eulogy. He shared parts of it with me today. There are currently close to thirty condolences posted from various friends in the industry on my several blogs. All of them had delighted over the years in hearing about Levy's adventures. They included writers, agents, editors, and fans.
Levy was a victim of the tainted dog food produced by Menu Foods.
The apartment seems so empty without him.
Natalie stayed with me for nearly five hours and she took care of all the details concerning Levy.
Bless her.
Janrae Frank
I have no skeletons in my closet, they are all hanging from the yardarm.
Once there were three brothers, Brandrahoon the vampire, Isranon called the Dawnhand, speaker to spirits, and Waejonan the Accursed, first of sa’necari. Isranon defied his brothers and was destroyed, his descendants forced into the darkness.
Blood Rites
www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook29989.htm
website
www.janraefrank.com
Darkzone
www.janraefrank.com/Vanilla.1.0.1/ |
| Posted By : Chaos, Perpetual - 3/24/2007 2:34 AM | | I was browsing the forum and was drawn here by the title of this thread.
I'm sorry for your loss. I know that it's never easy to lose a companion, in any form...
Take care. |
| Posted By : crystalwizard - 3/24/2007 3:12 AM | Mark sounds like a truly wonderful man. Will you post the eulogy he's written?
You also need to contact menu foods as soon as you are back together, or see if Natalie will do so for you.
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
Visit my art gallery on art wanted at
http://artwanted.com/crystalwizard
All my books in print:
http://sojourn.omnitech.net |
| Posted By : Nicholas - 3/24/2007 5:26 AM | Janrae, my condolences as well on your loss--and my heartfelt sympathy, as I have also felt the devastation of losing cherished animal companions. While not of the human variety, they are still very much persons, and become a fixture of our lives. Glad to hear you have such admirable support. Sounds like you know good people.
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| Posted By : Gloria Weber - 3/24/2007 9:53 AM | Janrae, sorry for your loss. I hope Menu Foods pays dearly for all the suffering they put you and countless others through.
(My Offical Writing Site/Blog) |
| Posted By : cussedness - 3/24/2007 2:11 PM | My daughter just called and told me she found a bunch of his puppy pictures and is going to scan them in and send them to me.
I made coffee and as I came back to the computer with it, I automatically glanced around as I have been doing for eleven years to make certain that I was not going to accidentally step on him and then I started crying again. I know it will take time, but the little things get to me. The apartment is just too quiet.
Janrae Frank
I have no skeletons in my closet, they are all hanging from the yardarm.
Once there were three brothers, Brandrahoon the vampire, Isranon called the Dawnhand, speaker to spirits, and Waejonan the Accursed, first of sa’necari. Isranon defied his brothers and was destroyed, his descendants forced into the darkness.
Blood Rites
www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook29989.htm
website
www.janraefrank.com
Darkzone
www.janraefrank.com/Vanilla.1.0.1/ |
| Posted By : crystalwizard - 3/24/2007 2:16 PM | *hugs* Janrae. Just hang in there, it'll be ok.
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
Visit my art gallery on art wanted at
http://artwanted.com/crystalwizard
All my books in print:
http://sojourn.omnitech.net |
| Posted By : Jordan Lapp - 3/24/2007 7:57 PM | Sorry for your loss. I have two cats I'd miss terribly. Condolences.
Jordan Lapp |
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