3 weeks ago we had to say goodbye to Dixie.
I am not a dog person. But, in the spring of 2007 I started shopping around for dogs. At the time, Devin and I were engaged, and I knew the minute we got married he wanted to get a dog. So, I figured that if I was going to have to live with a dog, it might as well be one I picked out. So, I headed to the Flagstaff mall (I was attending NAU), and found Dixie at the pet store. Yes, the pet store. I saw Dixie there through one of the little windows, then went home. The next few days, I couldn't stop thinking about that dog. I was perplexed as to why I couldn't get her off of my mind since dogs aren't my favorite things. That next weekend Devin came up from Phoenix for a visit, and I took him to meet the little puppy I couldn't stop thinking about. We asked the salesgirl to let us play with her, and we did so in one of the rooms for well over an hour. We were in love.
Remember how I said we got Dixie at a pet store? Dogs are very very overpriced there, but I didn't care. I honestly felt some tugging from deep inside my spirit telling me that I had to get this dog. So, I took out a loan and took her home a few days later.
Dixie was our child. In our first married months, Devin and I took her to the dog park nightly (nerdy, I know). I took her on 4-mile walks every morning. Devin and I used to compete over who Dixie would choose to sit with when we would watch movies.
Then when we had Sam, Dixie became his best bud. She would let him do anything to her while she just layed there patiently.
When we decided that we would move up here for Devin to attend school, and we found an apartment to live in, we were devastated when we found out they don't allow dogs. So began the search to find Dixie a new home. For weeks we tried to figure out some way that one of our family members could take her so we could take her back at the end of our 4 years in college. Unfortunately this plan didn't work out, so we had to search elsewhere. A sweet family from church ended up taking her, and from what we hear she his loving life, even sleeping in the bed with one of the daughters. How rude of Dixie. I wanted her to mope around for at least a few days.
Devin and Dixie's last picture before taking her to her new ownersI still don't know why I had the spiritual prompting to get Dixie. I was convinced that one day she would save us from drowning in a river or something, but nothing miraculous like that ever happened. Maybe Dixie's whole purpose was to show me that some dogs are worth loving. Just not cocker spaniels.
