In praise of Laci

After being out of sorts for over a week about the loss of Honey, it's about time that I praise Laci. It's unfortunate that Laci has lived in the shadow of Honey, especially since I think she is all around the far better dog. Although I do have to admit to our linking up as being a bizarre thing.

She was like a mailorder bride in that I knew Virginia was going to take Honey and there was no way that I would have been without a dog after Honey. So, I went to my friends who bred Chinese Cresteds and they linked me up with the person who was Laci's guardian. Laci came from Illinois, which meant that I got her sight unseen, with the exception of a couple of pictures, one of which is to the right. She was also a powderpuff crested and I was used to the hairless. Anyway, it was a go.

So, even though I knew I would miss Honey, I had another dog coming on the scene. That meant that the shock of losing Honey wasn't that great. There were only three days in which I was dogless, and the last one was the worst.

Laci flew in US Air Cargo with a 19.30 arrival time. I was at the airport at 18.30 waiting for her to get here. Now, Cargo means that she unloads after the airplane has let off the passengers and also unloads in another part of the airport away from the passenger section. The women working at the counter told me they would call when Laci arrived at the airfreight terminal. They also asked her name so they could make her feel at welcome. So, I drove back home had dinner and came back to find Laci waiting in her crate (left). I could tell that she was wondering who the heck all these people were and how they knew her name.

What I really remember about that night was that Laci was far more interested in a chicken carcass that was thrown on the ground outside the airfreight terminal. I know the thing was a shock to her system since she didn't like being in the car. She would also panic if we went anywhere near the airport.

One memorable thing from the early days was that we were walking in the antiques district when someone pointed out that she looked like Falcor the Luck Dragon from the Neverending Story, which was an interesting comment. That film was nearly 20 years old at the time and the person who said it was probably late teens-early 20s. Maybe Laci is my luck dragon.

With the exception of her going nuttsomuttso, I really like her. Although, I did question whether my dog was sane the first time she did that in front of me. Nuttsomuttso is where she would make nesting motions on the bed and spin around grunting, growling, and snapping. I have learned that this is her in extreme joy. Although, it does look as if she is insane when she does it if you don't know what is going on.

Laci has a larger range of emotions that Honey did. Not to mention that Laci smiles and yodles, which is pretty rare for a Chinese crested. They do one or the other, but not both.

I haven't had a lot of problems with Laci other than chewing and the occasional peeing on the carpet if I have been gone too long. She is a very smart dog.

I am glad I kept her. She's a great buddy!

BITCH FIGHT!

I went back to bed after posting the "if tears could build..." poem on my blog. I was lying on my back with Laci under my left arm and I imagined that I was holding Honey under my right arm. I could feel Honey there and it felt so good.

Honey's real place was in my left arm. Not to mention she would snore. Of course, having her there with me snoring away would be really great. I've always missed our naps together. Laci tends to curl up or put her butt near my face. Honey would put her head on my shoulder. Actually, she would even lie on her back like a human. It would be so comfortable to hear her snoring away right now.

Despite all that dreaming about having Honey back, there is the reality of having two dogs in my life. The major one being the logistics of carrying two dogs in a bag when I go out. Much better that one if I had someone who was a dog lover as a life partner instead of the crazy cat lady.

The reality is that Laci loves being an only dog, which I am pretty sure Honey did as well. Honey despite her apparently sweet nature could be a real bitch (as my dog friends pointed out "they don't call them that for nothing!"). I remember when Laci met Honey and Laci growled at Honey. I said, "Hey, Laci be nice to the old bitch!"

Not that there isn't a part of me who wouldn't mind having Laci, Honey, and Dhyanna back in my life. But I remember how Honey and Dhyanna could fight, which is why Dhyanna went away. I asked Virginia what do I do about Dhyanna. The answer was almost euthanasia, but ended up being almost as bad that Dhyanna was taken to Morris Animal Shelter. Dhyanna was immediately adopted and I visited her at Morris. Dhyanna was glad to see me. I know she knew she was going to a new home, but she was glad to see me. She knew I saved her life.

Anyway, I don't think I could have more than one dog in my life, but it doesn't stop me from missing my old pals and thinking about us being together again.

Work in progress...(more Honey obit)

I've stopped by the office on my way to be conflict counsel at the YSC. There are loads of reasons I would rather not do this with the two major ones being that I am still mourning for Honey and I want to be with Laci. The best tribute to Honey would have been to have taken a long walk with Laci the way I used to walk with Honey. Unfortunately, the weather was too stinking hot to do that. Better yet, a trip to Jockey Hollow for a long walk would have really done the trick for remembering Honey.

One of my memories was when Honey nipped me because we weren't getting into a park where she would chase squirrels as quickly as she wanted. Actually, there were two gates to the park and I made her walk by one to go to another and she nipped me. I did grab her nose and chew her out for that, which was as physical as I got with her. I did spoil Honey.

Honey was an ex-show dog. Virginia liked to boast that Honey was one point short of her championship. Show dogs don't have much of a life. Honey didn't play, hike, or chase squirrels until she met me. The thing was that Honey trained me to do those things by doing her "thing" in the house. So, regular walks became routine. That was prior to my having West Nile and her being "Nurse Honey" and I kind of resented having to walk her. After she nursed me: well, that as they say is history. Rather well known in fact. The sort of thing that got me national attention with Laci. Honey was the first dog I began to spoil rotten, but she was low maintenance as far as that went: clothes, harnesses, leashes, food, and treats. Honey wasn't into playing as much as she was into chasing squirrels. I bought Honey Baa Baa Que treats that she really loved.

I bought Honey as harness, the first of many, because she would pull on the lead as she chased squirrels. You can see how she walked in the Youtube posts of us at Jockey Hollow (search JCMB1 videos or use "Honey Virginia Chinese crested Jockey Hollow" on youtube or google videos). she was an eager hiker walking long trails. Honey used to do the longest trail at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, which is a pretty tough trail. Honey was a real trooper when it came to hiking.

It probably isn't a good idea for me to write this prior to going to work since I am beginning to tear up at the memories. I will work on this later...

Later that day...

It's hard being a "hardened criminal defense attorney on Philadelphia's mean streets" when your eyes are puffy from crying, which writing this was beginning to do to me. I didn't start wailing the way I did yesterday. The really bad thing was that my mind was thinking more about Honey and the adventures we had than what was going on in court.

My mind kept remembering the store in Flemington, NJ called the "Bee Happy Honey House" since Honey's real name was Escapades Sweet Honey B. I remembered how we joked about going in and telling them her name and seeing what they would do. Also, I always thought Honey was pretty happy being with me. She was very happy on our jaunts, especially the weekend ones where we went someplace far from home. What a dumb thing to think about at work.

Honey loved going with us. That was the major reason for getting the sherpa bag: she could go with us most places provided there wasn't security and a prohibition against dogs coming in. Honey would see us getting ready to leave and hope in the sherpa tote. You could tell she wanted to go with us. And, she did go most places with me.

The funniest event was when we were in Nawab Indian Restaurant in Bethlehem. Honey managed to escape from the sherpa bag. She was walking around the restaurant and the owner saw her and gave a startled look. We put her back in the bag, but the owner never said anything. In fact, one of the people who worked there thought it was great that we brought our dog in with us and would ask if we had her. It was sort of a well kept secret that we brought the dog into the restaurant. That was one of the reasons I liked going there. The other was that it was "on our way back" from Morristown--the scenic route.

If you've seen the videos, you know that we loved hiking there as mentioned above. Loads of memories of Jockey Hollow at Morristown. But there were other places we loved to hike: Stover Park/High Rocks, the Delaware Canal, The Raritan and Delaware, Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, and Valley Forge. We used to bike with Honey carried by me in a backpack.

The thing is that I wonder how many of these memories were done with Honey and how many with Laci? The only place I know that Laci hasn't gone to is Morristown: at least to hike. The real thing has come down to all the fun adventures I had with Honey, and by extension: Virginia. My wife is not as adventurous as Virginia was, and I miss the day trips. Alayne talks about doing them, but she is too much of a homebody to leave the house for errands let alone adventures.

Honey was a very special dog. Most people who didn't know her thought she had no personality, but she was a very private dog. I felt very special to be loved by Honey. Chinese Cresteds are kind of like wild dogs. Virginia liked to point out they were aloof with strangers. I found they are very into dog etiquette. They don't like being rushed by strange dogs. Honey was also very alpha in her behaviour. I remember Honey making calming signs (yawning) the day when Virginia left.

My mom shared the memory of when we were in the Design Centre and I had gone out of Honey's sight. She was looking around and trying to find me. Then she realised that I was in the restroom and she stood outside the door waiting for me. Honey and I had bonded pretty tightly. Virginia used to come in on Honey and me napping. We would both be on our backs with Honey in my arms and we would be snoring away!

Also, the best way to bathe a hairless crested was to just take her into the shower with me. I used to joke about taking showers with a cute blonde: too bad she was a dog.

One thing I don't miss was all the dumb comments you get when you have a hairless dog: the usual "that's what they look like when they have a haircut" thing. The worst were the world's ugliest dog type comments. Dave Pearson had a good retort which was that they were magic dogs and what you thought about them was your opinion of yourself. Anyway, Honey had real inner beauty in my opinion. A beauty which could only be known by truly knowing her.

Anyway, I miss my pals and the adventures we had. I hope to one day be able to do them again. But until then, here is Honey and Virginia to say goodbye!

Honey Died RIP (16.09.1995-10.06.2008)

Honey was my ex-girlfriend's Chinese crested hairless that I used to spend my days with when my ex and I were together.

At first, I wasn't so keen on the dog, but I think I had West Nile and she crawled into bed with me. I was better the next day. It turns out that hairless dogs have a reputation for healing properties and are called "fever dogs". After that incident, I began to really like "nurse Honey".

We used to go on long walks and chase squirrels. She was one of the closest things I had to having a child. I have loads of good memories of Honey. we spent loads of time together. It was then that I began to love the Chinese Crested breed. Honey was the first dog to go pretty much everywhere with me, including court!

I remember the time I was cleaning the house and Honey disappeared. I am not sure where she went, but I became really worried when she wouldn't come out. I thought she had escaped the house. Virginia came home and Honey reappeared.

Honey also used to go upstairs to the TV room after dinner and wait for us. It was funny how she would do that.

It was tough when we broke up, but I made sure I had another dog as soon as was possible. Honey was pretty unhappy when the time came that she had to leave as well. I mean, it's tough to lose a constant companion. I wanted another dog to fill that hole in my life. Honey was alone during the days since Virginia had to work.

It has been almost 5 years since I last saw Honey, but I have pictures and memories of her. Hearing she wasn't well was a bit of a foreboding. Honey's mom told me that Honey had congestive heart failure and couldn't be put under anaesthesia a couple of days back. Last night, I pulled Laci close to me "for Honey". Then, I get the news that Honey had died.

Sure, it was someone I hadn't seen in a while, but it was someone I was close to. It was that type of feeling.

I know that my time with Laci will be too short, even if Laci lives for 20 years. I will be very broken up by Laci's passing since I don't think I can ever prepare for the loss of a dear dear friend.

I mean I am broken up about Honey and I haven't seen her in nearly 5 years. I still have the memories and the pictures, but I don't have the dog. But, Honey hasn't physically been in my life since May 2003.

I'd hate to think how I am going to feel about losing a dog who is a real part of my life the way Laci is.

Goodbye, Honey, we miss you!