Tender Moments

It is with tender heart I announce the passing of our furry friend Cookie Dough.  She was amongst the greatest of a pets (and there were countless pets from my childhood), she had a special gift for connecting with humans just like a few others I remember, Mandy the cat, Elvis the parrot,  Kiwi the pocket parrot, Tequila the dog, and even Freddy the sheep.  I took Cookie Dough in as a favor to my sister, I never thought I could love a rodent but I did, I even shed tears at her passing and miss her presence in our home.

This however offered great moments with my children who were in complete denial for at least a day.  It has been almost two weeks and though they still struggle with the loss, I believe they learned much from this experience.  Here are some of my favorite memories of Cookie Dough:

-I first met Cookie Dough when visiting Suz's home in AZ.  We were having a BBQ and Cookie Dough crawled out of an empty cheetos bag, I was disgusted.       

-Suz brought her to Ut hoping someone would keep her.  She convinced me by saying "I'll list her on craig's list and she'll end up as rat food".  We took Cookie Dough in but no one showed much interest in playing with her that first week.

-Cookie Dough was great at escaping from her cage though.  We were singing during family night and this friendly little rat wanted to join so she climbed out of her cage.  No one wanted to touch her but William who was then assigned as Cookie Dough's official handler - they immediately connected.

-Since then Cookie Dough was the center of play at once a day.  Every child that entered our home wished to hold her and play with her.  I am happy we have many written stories and photos documenting their adventures.  

-Cookie Dough captured my heart on the desperate day she escaped from her cage into the garage just before a house showing.  She was faithful and gentle and crawled right into my hands when I called out to her.

-She enjoyed Christmas eve rolling around in a giant ball at Oma and Opa's and was passed among the cousins and the chaos.

-We only had her 6 months but Suz has many more funny memories from the previous two years that her family cared for her.

This experience has taught me how great it is for kids to have pets.  The kids are already requesting we now adopt a bunny, parakeet, snake, and iguana - maybe when we finally settle and only one at a time.  In the meantime though I have promised them they may start another blog only this time featuring only stuffed animals.