An Ode to Puff
All of us who have lost a pet can relate to this touching tribute to Puff the dog written by Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks.
Although we didn't really know each other, Sandy and I briefly overlapped as reporters covering LAUSD some time ago for our respective newspapers. And I'd also lost a dog last year to diabetes (following 15 months of twice-daily insulin shots), So I guess I felt a personal connection to Puff's story:
My friends remind me of the toll his care took on me. His illness was a ball and chain, and I was never sure if he was really happy. ... But that doesn't diminish the pain -- the hurt that keeps ambushing me.
I couldn't actually read it the first time I spotted it on the site of our cross-town bloggers, LA Unleashed. Sad dog stories just get to me. (Like the time I utterly embarrassed a friend of mine a few years ago when I began sniffling audibly through the last 15 minutes of "My Dog Skip" -- "What is wrong with you??" she said as the lights came up, making sure to walk a bit ahead of me as we left the theater).
But later, I went back to read Sandy's column and was struck by Puff's story, and how blessed he was to have such a loving family who took such good care of him.
And besides, is that just about the cutest dog you've ever seen? We just had to post his picture.
Our heartfelt condolences to Sandy and her family.
(To see a picture of my dog Pilgrim, bravely enduring his most humiliating moment EVER in life when I forced him to pose for an in-house Christmas ad at the Daily Breeze one year, see the jump.)
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
SANDY, MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU AND A FAMILY. I JUST LOST MINE ON 08-08-09. I STILL CRY TILL THIS DAY AND NOT A DAY GONE BY THAT I DIDNT THINK OF MY BELOVED PEPSI....MY DAUGHTER CRIES EVERY NITE WANTING HER DOG BACK. THEY MEANT SO MUCH TO US AND THEY GAVE US SO MUCH.. GOD BLESS THE LITTLE FURRY ANGEL..