[Dailydrool] Molly

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

I'm guessing most people have read that story that periodically gets  
passed around as an e-mail about the woman came home from having a  
double mastectomy, and her dog was so concerned about her that he  
brought out all his treasured toys and covered her with them while  
she slept. It's sometimes called "Great Dog Story" or "Lucky's Toy  
Box." Here's a link to one version for those who haven't read this  
story yet: http://www.funny-dog.com/dog-love.

I'd always thought this was one of those stories that has a grain of  
truth in it but is mostly a feel-good fabrication, though I can't for  
the life of me find it on Snopes.com to verify this suspicion. But  
last night I heard a story that has caused me to rethink my feelings  
about that story of Lucky, his toys, and his human.

I was over at my mother's working on her garden when the two grown  
daughters of the woman next door stopped to tell me their mother  
probably wouldn't live the night, so my mother shouldn't be alarmed  
by all the coming and going and strange people going in and out. Not  
only were all five grown children with their mother, but also a  
number of hospice workers.

The woman next door has a grown son who lives with her, but it's  
Molly, a beagle/boxer mix, who's been her real company. I'll see  
Molly through her storm door as I walk our Elsinore and young Charlie  
past her house, and Elsinore and Charlie insist on peeing in Molly's  
yard every single time we pass it (I hope that's made this basset- 
related enough!). Sometimes Molly is out in the backyard and barks  
through the fence with Elsinore and Charlie when they're spending the  
day keeping my mother company. The few times I've gone to Molly's  
front door, I've been allowed inside, but Molly won't come to me. She  
doesn't growl or try to threaten me, but she's not going to make up  
to me either. She's always kept a close eye on me around her human.

The two daughters said their mother was in a hospital bed in the  
dining room now, which, if you're a dog, isn't "right." All the grown  
children were home at the same time. That's not right either. And  
then there are the hospice workers coming and going. That's  
definitely not right. Molly's been handling everything pretty well,  
but she knows something's very wrong and is clearly concerned about it.

At some point yesterday, acting on her concern, Molly went into the  
kitchen, took a single Milk Bone out of the box, and went back into  
the dining room and laid the treat on the bed beside her companion.  
"Molly wouldn't eat that Milk Bone," the daughters said with  
amazement. "She wouldn't touch it at all. Just laid it next to Mama  
so she could have it." The last the daughters had heard their mother  
speak that day, it was to call Molly by name.

Oh, my.

If that just doesn't bring tears to your eyes.....

I'm glad Molly's human is able to die at home with Molly there, and  
I'm sure Molly can tell her human is dying. A body's chemistry  
changes during the dying process, resulting in a change in body odor  
that a dog can detect. Actually, one of the nurses at the hospice  
Elsinore works for once told me that she can smell the change in  
odor, too. The daughters said the funeral home they're dealing with  
lets people bring in the family pets to sniff the body, and they plan  
on taking Molly to the funeral home. What a forward-thinking and  
understanding funeral home! I'm not sure Molly will need that,  
though, because she'll be at home when the death happens, and her  
human's body will stay in the house long enough for her to start  
processing what's happened.

And then Molly will need to find a new home, unless someone in the  
family decides to take her after all. Oh, dear.

I've asked Elsinore and Charlie to sling some heart-soothing drool  
Molly's way because I know she's going to miss her human very, very  
much and feel quite lost without her for a long time.

Elizabeth