A Special Birthday

Penny Cougan turned nine years old this week– in human years she is 63 years-old. Penny is hands down, the best dog I’ve ever had the honor to know. She came into my life during an especially difficult time and immediately soothed and stole my heart and she continues to be a faithful, loving, amusing, and ever eager to greet me, consummate companion.

Penny was named after my grandparent’s dog which was the last dog my grandfather, Joseph Alfred Garneau, owned. I suspect that Penny was a comforting presence to my grandmother after my grandfather passed away.

Once, shortly after my grandfather died, I walked to my grandmother’s (Ernestine St. John Garneau) house to visit with her. She wasn’t home but I knew where the key was and let myself in. Just as I opened the door Penny darted outside. She was nearly 15 years old, partially blind and totally deaf - you’d think for a dog in that kind of shape and I, as a healthy 18 year-old, could easily catch up with her.  Penny ran fast - I ran and yelled, desperate to catch up with her but she of course, couldn’t hear me. As Penny ran towards Aurora Avenue, a busy highway, and then began running parallel to the road, visions of her hurling into traffic and being hit by a passing car raced through my mind. How could I  explain that I killed the last thing my grandmother shared with her husband of 46 years? I was nearly hysterical with fear and horrible anticipation. But somehow she stopped,  I can’t remember what finally did it, but I do remember feeling grateful as I carried her warm and now exhausted little body home.

My Penny is beginning to show her age. She developed some unsightly but harmless lumps along her body. She has a big bump near her eye that the vet has assured me is cosmetic only. I suspect she has the start of cataracts. She sleeps a little bit more and is slightly less playful than she used to be. Every now and then she’ll snap at Scout. But she still looks up to me with those giant brown eyes, still likes to cuddle under the covers, and still steals my heart. Happy birthday Penny Cougan.