THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

Thought I should explain the picture of the dog. Meet Gizmo. Some of you may have heard me mention him. He was/is/always will be the coolest damn dog. He was my ex's childhood pet and when I met him he was a grouchy 10 year old bastard. Yep, I hated him at first. He growled at everyone, even people he liked. And he would bite, too. So I was a little apprehensive when we inherited him and Tiki (the largest teacup poodle ever.)

Almost immediately his attitude toward me changed. He followed me everywhere. He slept under my feet when I sat on the couch and if he woke up and I wasn't there, he would search everywhere to find me. A great task since he was blind and deaf. He had an incredible nose. And he was smart. Let me say that I hated poodles. I've always liked dogs with meat on 'em. I always thought of poodles as those dogs with the hideous hairdos that old ladies carried around in their purses. I was wrong. If you ask people in the dog world, they will agree that poodles are some of the smartest ones out there. Tiki might have been an exception, but Gizmo wasn't. That dog was an Einstein. You could not put one over on him.

Does all this all sound like love? Read the title again. It will be 5 years this Dec. 15 since he left my life, but he is always in my heart. I love that damn piss. He was ma bookie. Here comes the Star Wars geek-ma bookie is what Jabba the Hut calls Han Solo in the remake of A New Hope. According to the subtitles, it means "my boy." For some reason, after I heard it I started calling him that. And he responded to it, while he could still hear.

Of the 18 1/2 years he spent on this planet, I hope the latter half was his favorite. I feel truly fortunate to have known him. And been loved by him.