Oreo. Where can I start?
Oreo was a dog, grateful for her home and people every day of her life. She was an orphan... a stray... a homeless lost puppy, found on January 8th, 1997. It was a bitterly cold day and she was found downtown, huddled under a car. She was dirty and hungry, and according to the vet's expert opinion "dumped downtown, an unwanted Christmas gift." He told me, "She'll be a perfectly good dog and love you forever if you just clean her up and give her a home."
He was right. So VERY right!
Oreo was more than just "good." She was gentle and smart and oh so very loving. Really, "grateful" is the best and only word to describe how she was and lived every day.
Fast forward to how she literally changed our lives.... Oreo was a lively, border collie insatiable for exercise and play. We started off walking her. Then running with her. Then riding a bike. Then biking miles and miles through the woods. Then we brought in a canine playmate, Mocha. Ultimately, we chose to move out to a country house so that they could have enough space to play and roam. I even rode horseback and those "energizer bunnies" bolted along the trails hours at a time.
When the kids were born she took on the role of hall monitor. She knew who was coming and going and had one eye on each of them at all times. But she was hardly interactive. She left the role of "nanny" to Mocha, the labrador/dalmatian dog. Oreo, though gentle and loving, had no interest in kids climbing all over her and tugging at her ears.
Though mild mannered and sweet like a cookie, Oreo was never going to back down in the face of danger. If her people were threatened she never hesitated to take charge. Like the time we encountered a coyote on the trail and she ran him off. Or the time another dog came racing at the kids, and she let out a bark 4 times her size. She never ceased to amaze me.
In her latter years she could be found curled up on the floor at your feet, or underneath a table. Never very far from her people... always in the room and keeping a watchful eye. Every night in the yard, she'd meet me in the driveway. That's one of the things I have missed the most. I swear she could hear our vehicles a mile away.
When I call her a Border Collie, it was mostly about her habits and instincts, and of course her looks. But did we ever really know the genetics of our mutt? No. But she was brilliant and agile, loyal and loving and absolutely steadfast in her dedication to her family. To me, she was everything a border collie embodies. And a herder! Such a good herder.
She was a mischievous little clown at times too. She'd steal the whole chicken breast off your plate if you left for 10 seconds to grab something from the fridge! She'd lock eyes with you, and do it anyways if she ever got caught in the act! From underneath the table, to on your chair and out the door with your chicken before you could holler her name!
And there was no fencing that dog either! Over, under, through.... didn't matter. Whatever it took to get out, she'd do it. There really was no point ever trying to contain her.
She hated swimming, but loved going to the lake. She loved to play chase with you, but never fetch. Try getting her to fetch and you would be the one running after the ball. It was "beneath her" and you got that glare every time you tried.
I remember that she loved digging her own carrots out of the garden. And though no dog treats ever drove her wild... shortbread cookies at Christmas time were absolutely her all-time favourites. If you tried lifting a shortbread to your mouth, she'd leap into your lap and snatch it out of your hand before it ever touched your lips. She was crazy that way! And I loved it!
Mocha LOVED ice cream. Oreo didn't care either way. Oreo would let Mo lick every drop of it and she'd still be wagging her tail all happy and content to have the empty cup after.
Mocha spent her time sleeping on the kids' beds, while Oreo was always at my feet. She had this little thing about curling up in the warm spot the minute you'd leave the bed in the morning. Turn around for a second and she'd be curled up next to your pillow.
I really miss her, still. She was my first doggie and taught me so many things. She was really ill once at 12 years and managed to bounce back. I certainly considered the 4 years after to be bonus time. I was really grateful for the bonus time. We had some great walks, some great cuddles and some great memories together in those last years.
The day she left to find her resting place I was devastated. I didn't want her to die alone. I knew something was up because she was more tired than usual and had refused to eat her favourite wet dog food that morning. (I used to feed her privately, out of sight of the puppy, so she wouldn't be rushed and could get every morsel herself.) Well, that day I put her dog food back in the fridge and labelled it "Oreo." She went outside to the yard. That night when I got home from work she didn't greet me and just could not be found.
We searched and searched well past midnight, and then again at dawn the next day. I must have called her name a hundred times. Out property is densely treed and the grass was so thick she could have been anywhere, we just couldn't see her. I was so upset. I just wanted to find her.
Then just after lunch she stumbled out into the yard into plain sight. She was limp and disoriented but alive. I scooped her up into my arms and told her everything I needed to say. I petted her lovingly and the kids did the same. There's no way she should have been alone at the end. As fiercely independent as she was, she needed her family that day and her family needed her. I was so grateful she changed her mind and came home. That was my Oreo... she knew I needed her and if it took her last ounce of strength, she was going to be at my side 'til the end.
I don't consider it a sad ending. I consider it the perfect ending to a good life of canine-human companionship. She loved us and we loved her. We gave Oreo...and Mocha too, the best years and the best times and they gave us theirs.
Forever grateful,
Cathie
(Oreo was buried alongside her canine sister, Mocha. May they both rest in peace.)
