Frackie

On February 17, 2023 my dog Gypsy passed away. She had a tumor in her spleen and it was removed in April 2022, and the vet said we'd have 3-4 months with her. We had another 10 months, and she was perfectly fine until a couple of days before she passed. Randy was right in the middle of the Legislative Session in North Dakota, and I was at our home in Tennessee with Gypsy and Frackie. He had planned to come home during crossover, but Mother Nature decided to dump a blizzard in North Dakota and his flight was canceled, so it was just Frackie and I. Honestly, if it weren't for Frackie, I might have stayed in bed the first couple of days after Gypsy, but Frackie needed me, so I got up and took care of her. She helped to heal my heart.

Frackie had been a mostly outside dog. Well, I was lonely without Gypsy, so by the time Randy finished the legislative session, I had turned Frackie into an indoor dog. Rather than take her in and out to the backyard several times a day, we decided to teach her how to use the dog door. Randy stood outside in the yard with a treat and I was inside with a treat. It didn't take her long to figure out how to go in and out. Treats are a powerful motivator. Frackie tends to go through the door at 90 miles an hour, sometimes faster if it's close to dinner time.

One thing Randy asked me to do in July was take care of Frackie. Of course I said yes - she kept me going when Gypsy passed, and I love her dearly. She is the sweetest, most easy going dog, and I couldn't imagine life without her.  

I took Frackie to my mom's the past 2 weekends (we won't talk about how my mom greeted Frackie with more excitement than she greeted me). I realized while we were there that her tag still has Randy's contact information on it. I ordered her a new tag with my contact information and it arrived today. I cried when I opened it - it's just one more reminder that life goes on, and the changes that I have to make, like it or not (mostly not). 


 


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