This is hard to talk about because it ended so tragically. Shando and I fostered this gorgeous puppy (not the guest dog named Cookie, who is having a moment), for about a week.

When we got Poopsie, I thought it was really cute because that’s the pet name that my grandfather had for my grandmother, although if we would have kept him, he would have been called Iggy.

We almost immediately found a home nearby where we knew he would be treated well, but unfortunately, while they were out walking Poopsie, a vicious dog in the neighborhood, who was being dog-sat, got off leash and attacked and killed Poopsie (who had been renamed). It was traumatic for our neighborhood and many of us rushed to the scene with the screams, which also threw Poopsie’s new mom to the ground and injured her. I could not believe my eyes and openly sobbed when our vet, who had rushed over, could not resuscitate him. Life is so short and can be so unfair. This is probably the only footage we have of him, which I was glad to find.

We only had Peanut for about five months. He came to us as a foster in January at age 13 as his previous family moved away and said they could not take him. We determined there was something wrong with his health, which perhaps the family who had abandoned him was aware of. We took him for X-rays, but what it ultimately turned out to be was advanced kidney failure. After several months of his only being slightly unbalanced with his equilibrium, he deteriorated and could not gain weight. We tried to get encourage his appetite in so many ways, but his poor little body just wasn’t cooperating.

Peanut was super affectionate and bonded with me very quickly. As a chihuahua-dachshund mix, he did remind me of my Tucker. We knew almost immediately that he would not just be a foster once I saw that handsome face and his attentive eyes. I know he felt loved. He very rarely barked, but he had a very deep voice when he did. He loved car rides and being near me. He loved meeting new dogs and would shadow them until the novelty wore off. I’m so glad we had him in our family, even if it was for just a short period.

Disjointed Montage: