Holly and Inky: A Love Letter

Dear Inky,

It's been six days since you left and don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you. I think it's great you found a nice family. I just miss you. I miss our play dates, running together in the field, wrestling together. Most people look at me and they think eh, small dog. You understood that I'm not small dog. I might weigh seventeen pounds but inside this smallish frame beats the heart of a lion. I run with the big dogs. I wrestle with the big dogs. I bark like a big dog and I herd like the great flock guardian breeds of the Middle East.

Yet they call me a schipperke mix. Sigh.

You & the 49-ers broke my heart.

But Inky, mi amour, I digress. Since you've been gone I've been trying everything to forget you. First I tried burying myself in televised sports. I got into it but it wasn't enough. You know me. I have to be playing myself - chasing big dogs or fetching or running. I don't mind hanging out in front of television but I need to my exercise.

After my brief dalliance with team jerseys, sports bars and betting pools (I lost seven biscuits to Speedy, the slick little beast) I decided that being outside made me feel closer to you. So I decided to take up gardening.

Where do you want the next hole?

As you can imagine, this was a failure. Paws are great for running, for digging, for walking, for wrestling with your big dog friends. When it comes to detail work like weeding and pruning, they're less than optimal. I excelled at digging and watering the flowers (in my own way) but that was the beginning and end of my skills.

After that debacle I'm embarrassed to say I tried to comfort myself with food. Biscuits, bully sticks, bits of cheese filched from volunteers, whatever I could get. It didn't make me miss you any less, my beloved bully dog buddy. It just made me a little portly. Luckily with my energy level I'll burn it off quickly. 

Nom nom nom. Inky. Nom.

Obviously I needed to channel my energy into more athletic, healthy pursuits. Like extreme outdoor hiking. I have a lot of volunteer friends here and they've been great about taking me on some of the trails. No one will take me skydiving or else I'd try that, too. I'm fearless, you know that.

I won't lie, the hiking is great. I love being outside, love burning off some energy and it keeps my mind off you.

Keep up!

But here I still am, Inky darling. And though it pains me to say this, with you gone it's time for me to seriously start thinking about moving on. Finding a family of my own. Maybe one with a big dog to play with. Their big dog won't replace with you, my friend. But perhaps I could be a good companion to a lonely dog. With a nice family that understands me and won't mistake me for a delicate flower.

I've been meeting some new people and I really feel like it's my time. That any day now those perfect people are going to come in and say  "hey, that zippy little black dog we saw online, the one that's like a 100 lb border collie in a 17 lb package, we want to meet that one!". That day is coming, Inky. I'm going to have my own people soon, just like you. But trust me, I'll never forget you.

All My Love,

Holly

PS - If you get to missing me, you can always see me in my video on youtube.