Ode to Star

My husband and I lost our beautiful dog Star one month ago. Star was an 11-year-old Norwegian Elkhound. If any of you have read my bio on my website, you will have been introduced to Star because she wrote it for me. Losing her was very sudden; one day she was fine and happy, the next day she started to wobble when she walked. I took her to the vet for diagnostics the following morning, and two days later, the neurologist we took her to diagnosed her with a brain tumor. By that point, Star could no longer walk, she was having trouble even breathing, and the vet did not believe an operation would give her back her quality of life. My husband and I made the decision that we couldn’t put her through that.

I waited a month to write this memorial to Star because I thought I could do it without crying. But I was wrong. Still, I am so grateful that she was a happy, healthy dog every day of her life until those last four days. She did not show any symptoms or seem to feel any pain or discomfort. I am grateful to my sister who helped me find good neurologist, to all the veterinary professionals who helped Star, to all my family and friends who let me talk about it, and to my husband who held my hand and soothed Star as we let her go.

And I am grateful for the 11 wonderful years we had with her. She was a good dog. We have so many great memories that we treasure. She a great guard dog. I didn’t need to hear the doorbell to know the UPS man was bringing me a fun delivery. We had our little rituals, like goodnight pets before we all went to sleep. Yes, Star slept in the middle of the bed! She loved our daily morning walks. It was hard to get her to actually look at the camera when I tried to document, though! We also took her on hikes around the area, the beach, the mountains. Here she is with my husband at Roaring Camp. The steam engines didn’t even bother her. And she loved chasing the ducks.

She always had to lay next to her dad on the couch, her favorite position. And she left her mark, lots of dog hair!

All the books I’ve written for the last ten years, Star was with me out on the deck as I typed on my Alphasmart. And if the weather wasn’t good for writing outside, she laid on the rug next to my office chair. I actually made that rug when I was a teenager. Star took it over as hers.

Star had a lot of well-loved friends she played with. She was great for letting me pile them all on top of her without moving! Hmm, Froggie and Pink Pig look a little worse for wear!

With this photo, I’m sure you can see why we fell instantly in love with Star. She was 11 weeks old. That bone is way too big for her mouth.

Star, we love you. We miss you. You will always hold that special place in our hearts. You were such a good dog.

I thank you for letting me share about Star. Please, tell me about your furry friends. Leave a comment and your contact e-mail address to enter a drawing for a copy of Wild Sweet Love by Beverly Jenkins. Beverly has always been one of my favorite authors. I’ll announce the winner on my next blog, and I’ll also add you to my newsletter for updates if you aren’t already a member. And congratulations to Laney. You won my last blog and a copy of Ladies Prefer Rogues, an anthology that includes a story by the wonderful Veronica Wolff. I’ll email you for your snailmail Please stop by The Tote Blog tomorrow, Mar 1, for more pictures and memories of Star. I’m giving away a copy of Somebody’s Lover which featured a Norwegian Elkhound who was very much like my gorgeous girl.