Ringo

In Memory of Ringo

My family rescued Ringo from the pound in 2006. We were trying to decide between him (named Franz Joseph at the time) and this Australian Shepherd puppy. Ringo started chasing flies around and we instantly knew his personality would be a great fit so we adopted him. It’s hard to say how old he was exactly but we believe he was under a year old because he got a little bigger after we brought him home. He was black, medium sized, with the cutest little nub for a tail. We decided he looked like a giant Jack Russell and his personality matched too. I was the one to name him, after the Beatles of course. From the day we brought him home he radiated happy go lucky goofiness and joy. He was constantly wagging his nub, looking for ear pets, and just happy to be around you. As we grew older life started happening, so I moved to Washington with my new husband. I would come home to visit my family (but let’s be real, I came to see Ringo) several times a year, but always on Halloween. It became a tradition to dress Ringo up for Halloween every year – a sheep, a unicorn, a pig, Shakespeare. Every year my family asked what I’d make him this year and every year I had something fun in mind. I don’t know how much Ringo loved the costumes but I just came to associate Halloween with him. Apart from Halloween, when I came home to visit I just had this feeling that he felt the same joy as I did to see him again after months apart. It’s hard to describe but I know he shared that special bond I had with him. He was there to comfort me when I was crying over my first serious boyfriend. He was there to hike with me when no one else wanted to. He was there to sleep in the guest bed with me when I came home to visit. He was my “muffin” as I called him. Anyway, moved back to my home state after 3 years away and I got to see much more of Ringo then, but of course we saw him start to age. For the last 3 years of his life I had this horribly anxiety about him passing. I knew it would come eventually but I was so filled with dread and anxiety at the thought of it. And when the day finally came, it was just as hard as I had imagined. I had 13 years with my heart dog and no dog will ever be able to fill his shoes. I know I’ll have other dogs and love them too but Ringo and I had a very special bond that I’ll never be able to explain. I was embarrassed at the amount of grief I experienced when he passed, sure we weren’t supposed to mourn pets this hard, but I’ve come to realize it’s because he was special. I’ve had other dogs come and go but Ringo left a hole in my heart. I got a tattoo of a little muffin in his honor and I’m so glad I did as a daily reminder of the bond we had that I’ll never forget. It’s been a year and a half since he’s passed and I still get emotional sometimes, and always on Halloween.