Reggie

After 13 wonderful years as our friend and protector, Reggie drifted away this morning. It was a very peaceful departure.

Sarah and I adopted Reggie back in the early nineties. She had recently weaned a litter of pups, so she was a big mama dog from the start. We're pretty sure that her previous owner abused her. Reggie would always run from anybody holding a broom, and if someone parked a pickup truck in the driveway, she would insist on crawling underneath.

She had such a sweet personality. She gracefully accepted the dominance of Fairfax the cat, and she put up with all the neurotic behavior of our other feline, Willoughby. But when it came to guarding the house from strangers, Reggie was fierce.

One day while I was working in the back of the house, I heard breaking glass. I rushed to the front door to find a guilty-looking Reggie. Apparently she had busted out a glass pane while lunging at one of those guys who leaves menus on the door. There was a stack of them scattered across the front walk.

Another time we found a strange little note that the Postman must've dropped. It was an official postal service document with a title like, "Dangerous Dog Alert" and it listed our address and a brief description of Reggie.

During all our years in Hollywood, neighbors on all sides would get robbed - but never us.

But Reggie was all bark, no bite. I think she may have nipped one of the kids after relentless teasing, but she always showed incredible restraint.

We had some great times. There were countless hikes up Runyon Canyon, the Angeles Forest and one very memorable trip to Joshua Tree. We even dragged her up to Big Sur with us once, but she wasn't into road trips.

Reggie liked rubbing her back in the dry grass. She was especially pleased with our move to the new house, and she spent many days soaking up the sun in her big backyard.

She had been slowing down for some time, and about two weeks ago she started to struggle. The doctor found a large tumor in her abdomen. He recommended that we put her to sleep right away. I wanted to wait until the weather got sunnier.

Last week she rallied. She was getting around well, and her appetite improved. But yesterday she took a bad turn.

So this morning the girls gave her hugs and told her how much they loved her. Around 9:30 the doctor came over. Reggie faded off to sleep slowly, probably wondering why I was thanking her for being such a great friend.

This weekend we'll plant a tree for her and eventually we'll scatter her ashes there.

I'll always remember Reggie.