While we are remembering our dear Sage, we thought you might like to revisit a wonderful guest post by my friend Tiggy Ritchie. I found it a great comfort right now.
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My Facebook friend Tiggy Ritchie, also known as @westcoastdogs1 on Twitter, has graciously agreed to be a guest blogger today. He is an awesome writer and has a great message to share. Go check him out at http://www.westcoastdogs.com/. Woo woo woo!!!
The assignment was to write about something that is important to me. This is a tough one because in my world there is a lot of important stuff, and then I decided to prioritize, while I watched TV.
Every channel I went to ended up with some talk about this thing called love. There is love for hamburgers, love for holidays, love for hot sunny days, all this love and yet I can’t quite figure out why this is it, why this ‘love’ is all they have? Doesn’t it get any better than that?
I know I’m just a dog, and not even a fancy dog at that, just your middle of the road dog. In fact, we met a couple walking a dog that was a similar colour to me when we were at the beach on Sunday. My owner commented on how we were the same colour. The man said, ‘yes, they should just call that colour ‘dog’, they’re both basically just ‘dog’ colour’. That gives you an idea about me, just a dog, dog colour, dog-sized.
But I digress, we were talking about love or at least me this regular dog was talking about love and how it’s not enough and how that four letter word doesn’t give you a whole lot to go on and yet people use it to base entire futures together.
I’m fortunate to have a better word, a better phrase that equates to much more than hamburgers and holidays. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t use it because I tell you it carries a lot more weight than that lameass ‘l’ word you all got going on.
My word isn’t a word at all really, it’s a phrase, twice as many letters and an apostrophe and an exclamation mark to boot. My phrase is similar to love but kind of like love squared or love super-sized or love Google plus.
The first time I heard my phrase I was standing in the reception area at the animal shelter. The shelter man had just led me out from the back where I’d been living in cage for the last couple of months. I’d done this walk before but this is the first time it came with the phrase. The man handed the leash to a lady named Sarah; she looked down at me, gathered up her paperwork and receipt, and said IT.
Now this part takes some imagination but I swear that’s what this little dog of non-descript colour saw. Rainbows and butterflies and cookies and sunshine and running on the beach all rolled into a moment.
And off we went into my new life, and let me tell you I did hear the word love and sure it was nice and everything but it’s just not on par with the other words I heard, particularly that phrase which I’ve since learned is less of a phrase and more of a request. Two words, one a contraction and a verb and the other a noun, and in between and at the end is some punctuation which really makes it what it is.
This phrase equals hamburgers, holidays, hot sunny days and so much more. When I hear it, I know that what follows is everything that love is, wrapped- up in forever and a biscuit. This phrase marched me out the door and up to the community centre where Sarah plunked her credit card on the counter in exchange for a tag to put on my collar that tells the entire world that I’m not a shelter dog anymore. This phrase took me to the vet for a check up when I had a bit of a cough. This phrase when used by the man of the house is followed by a tummy rub, for me! This phrase is followed with treats, walks, snuggles and the continued reminder that yes I get to sleep on the bed in a warm house just because I’m me.
And, I can’t help but wonder why the rest of the world settled for only four letters, isn’t that like opting for half as much?
They way I see it, the world would be a better place if we adopted my phrase and set that love business to the side. Can you imagine how it would be?
Picture this, you sit down in front of the TV to get some ideas for an article you’re writing, the show comes on and there’s a man on bended knee, holding a little jewelry box gazing up at a pretty girl, instead of the usual nonsense about love he says my phrase of forever….C’MON TIGS!
Dogpaddling Through Life 
Lovely post and very lovely theme.
I agree!
Tiggy, that was a great article. One of your best yet!!!
Ya think I could get Tiggy to write my blog every day?
Just fabulous Tigs. Bol!
Ahhh, that’s awesome..good job Tiggy! I am so touched to be your friend too 🙂
This makes me AND MOMMIE all leaky eyes! I know dat phrase! It was Mommie picking me up at da airport and saying you is MINE MINE MINE! No more parking lots or almost drowinin in da storm drain! When Mommie and Daddys says C’Mon Willow – it means dey loves me!
I is soo happies to knows you Tigs! You bees as sweet as my friend Rumpy who I LOVES!
Purrs Willow
I agree Willow!
It sounds like every day is a happy and lucky day for you. But the happiest and luckiest was the one when your person Sarah found you at the shelter! We’re so glad she did and we bet she is too! C’mon Tigs! Let’s play!
Loud purring from the RainbowCatsx8
Thank you all for your nice compliments 🙂 I am Sarah’s first dog ever. When she was going to get me she went with a coworker who is a confirmed ‘dog person’….the woman told her a few weeks later that she figured either Sarah would go over the top and completely adore me forever OR, after a few weeks Sarah would decided that having a dog wasn’t her thing and she’d return me!!! I’m glad she was wrong about the returning part!!
Everyone says how I’m such a tolerant dog, I put up with all the funny clothes and photos and poses she makes me do. But really, I feel like I hit the jackpot that day she walked in, I love my life and I’m spoiled rotten. My whole family is so glad that my previous owners didn’t want me anymore and gave me up to the shelter, that was the greatest gift ever. I only wish they knew how well it all turned out.
Loved it, Tigs. I really did. Sniff. Touching stuff. I was abandoned by my previous owner and am now in a forever home, I hope. I could really relate to your post. Sob.
I’m really glad you had a happy ending, too!
See? It takes alot to make us big dogs *sniff*, but this little guy sure can do it! woo woo!
Awww, so sweet and touching. Tigs, you may be ordinary in colour, but your writing is anything but. It reaches out and touches us all. For that, you are extraordinary.
I’m sure it was a happy day when your owner said “Cmon Tigs”. For both of you!