Remembering a Hound

I don’t remember the exact day we picked up Dillinger and brought him home to our life, but I remember the night, I remember the feeling.

It was around this time of the year.  We had found him at the Shawano Humane Society.  He was taken in as a stray and never claimed by anyone, despite the fact that he was a well-cared for basset hound, that appeared to be purebred.  We had been looking for a companion dog for Kody, our Alaskan Malamute, all spring.  This was 2007 mind you, when the best way to look for a dog was to visit your local rescue.  Now the online capabilities makes it so easy to find whatever type of pet you want.  Of course, we didn’t even know what we were looking for- until we met Dillinger.

I remember they put me in a room with him at the Humane Society.  All I can say is- he was such a hound!  His interest was not at all in me, but rather trying to pry the lid off the Tupperware container in the corner that housed the treats.  We would learn that big nose and even bigger head was capable of opening most things that stood between him and food.

In the weirdest way- I loved that about him.  I loved that he had a personality.  I guess I could tell instantly that he was a little quirky just by that short interaction.  And he didn’t disappoint.  Over the years he made us laugh so hard with all his antics, from rolling around on the couch grunting and pushing every pillow on the floor, to the unexpected speed he could muster up when no one was looking.

I brought Nick and Kody back to meet him, we signed a few papers and he was ours.  I don’t remember the exact day, but I remember that night.  I remember it as if it were yesterday and not 12 years ago.  I remember taking him outside and watching him sniff around his new surroundings.  I remember standing in the driveway looking up at the stars.  We had been watching the movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2, where they rent a cabin on a lake for the summer.  It has always been a dream of mine to spend a whole summer on vacation in a place like that.  And as I stood there looking up at the sky I remember thinking anything was possible.  We were just beginning our lives together after all.  Nick and I had only just bought the house the previous year, we weren’t married yet, we hadn’t even gotten engaged.  There were so many exciting moments on the horizon and I had this overwhelming sense that our lives were about to get really good.  It was the beginning of summer, my favorite time of year.  I don’t remember the exact date, but I remember the feeling.  It was anticipation… and it was hope.

And that’s what remembering the hound really means to me.  His entry into our lives marked the building of a life together, the starting of a family.  And his passing also painfully reminds me of all the setbacks we have faced along our journey.  I always imagined Dillinger would meet the children we expected to have.  It has been an adjustment to let go of that image, the one I saw so clearly on a June night in 2007 as I was staring up at the stars.

Dillinger was a part of the changing of a season…jobs turned into careers, a fixer upper turned into a home, a relationship became a marriage.  And now it seems his passing marks the tide turning once again…moving on to new opportunities, building an addition on the house and all the plans Nick and I still have…

While I feel a pang in my heart from missing Dillinger when I remember the day we got him, the feeling of hope is why I return to that night in my mind.  Even though the years have taught me more than I wanted to learn- I am still an optimist.  I still want to believe most things are possible.

And I still believe our best times of our lives are on the horizon.

Thank You, Dear Hound, for filling the past twelve years with so many memories.