My name, as you know, is Sophie. It has become Sophie Peanut, but I am not thrilled with that moniker. I think you might, if you have kept up with my brother Bear’s blog, know all my monikers—mainly ascribed by my mother. Bear, however, started calling me a Princess. THAT, I didn’t mind. I really didn’t prance around the house all proud of myself when I found out that I almost won Dog of the Year. He made that up. But, it is true that I AM the boss of this house. And, there were a few times Brother Bear was not pleased.
I’m sure many of you have read Bear’s Last Will and Testament. If you did not, it would probably be a good idea to go to www.bebearmused.blogspot.com. In it, he left the responsibility of caring for, and watching over, my mom to me. Not stated specifically, but implied, was that I would also continue being the family scribe. I am a reluctant scribe and am not sure this will work as well, but Duty calls, and I will do my best.
My blog will be a little different than his. Being a foster, and one who had not the best early life experiences, it is important to me and my mom we tell the foster story. Plus, all fosters make for very good story fodder. Sorry, but my intent is not 100% altruistic! However, I do hope you will enjoy it. Not quite sure how I’m going to end it. Bear was so pithy and I…well I am struggling with two phrases, not comfortable with one, and concerned that the other will antagonize some people. We’ll just have to see.
For my first foray into blogging, however, it is very important for me to “clear the air”. There are some things that weigh heavily on my mind and before we “begin” we all need to be in the same place. First, the opposable thumbs concept was not glommed from a book. No, Bear came up with that all on his own and then ironically mom read us that incredible book, “The Art of Racing in the Rain”. Like I said on my Facebook page, I have no issues with the lack of opposable thumbs. My humans and siblings do things for me anyway so why must I worry? I expect my mom to take dictation.
Second, Bear was always very unhappy with my “Homeless Girls Club”. Do you recall him bringing that up? Well, he was never homeless. He never knew what it was like to be on your own, fending for your own food, trying to stay out of the elements, trying to stay warm, trying not to get hurt by humans, and feeding eight (yes ,8) children. And he CERTAINLY didn’t know what it was like to be 50% underweight. Feline sister Mimi, while not having birthed babies, does know this. And Invisible Gracie, our foster sister, knew it quite well also. Occasionally we allowed boys to join our meetings, on special nights, or ‘specially those who were homeless too, but Bear never quite understood the camaraderie one felt being able to share like experiences. Yes, his feelings were hurt. But us girls? We are still trying to overcome our issues. He just thought we were getting extra attention.
Finally, I know no one blames me. Nor do they blame Ditto. But please know how guilty we feel that Bear was the one who was mauled by the pit bulls. Momma keeps saying it was a blessing we hid. In fact, that’s why we did it. We knew that five pit bulls against us three was not a good scenario. And momma has assured us that she was so grateful we did hide. And we know Bear never blamed us. But we’ve always felt badly. And that’s one of the reasons we never, ever complained while Bear was getting ALL of the attention. It could easily have been me or Ditto or, Dog forbid, all of us.
I want you all to know how badly I miss Bear. We didn’t get to say goodbye. Ditto shared a story with me that when his brother Dakota died, he got to see the body. He knew and understood. Plus he sadly had to watch Dakota fade away so he knew it was ending. For us, we knew Bear was sick, but momma never told us he wasn’t coming back. We saw him at the end and knew how uncomfortable he was. But when he walked out the door we just thought mom was takin’ him to ANOTHER doctor’s appointment. When he didn’t come back? Well, for a week the only time we left the couch was to eat. And to go out for a walk. It was just recently that I stopped running to the river to look for him. I just want you to know how much I miss him.
Please know that Bear taught me everything I know. It was Bear who drew me out of my shell. It was Bear who showed me that having fun was good. It was Bear who taught me to catch balls and Frisbees and chase horses (ick) and play in the water, and chase deers. My earliest memories of fun were Ditto in front and Bear in back and me in the middle as we ran along the river. I loved Bear. It was because of Bear I am the dog that I am.
In the future I will share with you my story, my background, what little I CAN talk about. Until then, I welcome you again. And….I grant happiness to REIGN on your parade…..
