I don’t think I’ve really talked about Dakota a whole lot in the past.  I probably avoid talking about him because my feelings for him are so intense that it might come off as a bit strange.  He’s a dog, afterall, right?

About 7 years ago, I was living in a small apartment downtown with my little rat-haired terrier, Mandy.  At that time, She was about 10 years old.  I felt bad leaving her home alone as I went off to work and was actively looking for a friend for her.

I was at the mall with my mom and sister and we, of course, went by the pet store.  Normally we just look because this store makes us sad.  We hate seeing all of these little babies trapped in glass boxes where people knock on the glass (not a good thing for puppies and kittens) and where they are often left to lie in their own feces.

This puppy, though, had kept us coming back.  We were partial to beagles and bassetts and fell in love with every one of them that we saw.  This puppy was 4 months old and had been at this store for at least 3 months.  He started off at $400 and no one would buy him.  On this day, his price was down to $199.  My mom asked me if I wanted him.  Of course, being the sucker I am, I said yes.

We paid for him and were told to come back in an hour to pick him up (they were going to bathe him, get his papers, etc).  We went to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch and sat there, thinking of names.

I knew his name was Dakota from the minute I saw him.  He has a red coat (well, he’s a bi-colored beagle but he’s not lemon…he’s got red – much the same color as my own hair).  His coloring just made me think of the old westerns and the Dakotas for some reason (I guess I could have named him Sedona and that would have fit, too, but he’s Dakota).  Anyway…because he’s AKC registered, we had to come up with a regal name.  We just started getting silly.  His full name is Duke Dakota de Sota.  :-)

Dakota and Mandy saved my life.  I mean that.  I had a very stable older, smaller dog who was queen of my house.  In comes this puppy who is full of love (a bit neurotic because of his stint in the glass house) and willing to share it.  I was healing from being in an incredibly abusive relationship and they were my saviors.  They gave me love without any restrictions or conditions.  I wasn’t used to that.  They gave me companionship without me having to walk on egg shells or be hit if I said the wrong things.

They saved my life.  These two small dogs actually saved my life.

Mandy passed away a year ago last summer.  I still feel the loss sometimes.  She was the beginning of my healing.

Dakota has had to put up with my traveling (he stayed with my mom when I lived in Great Britain).  He sometimes lets me know that I’m not supposed to leave him behind when I’m pursuing my life.  He is a PART of my life and makes sure that I know that now.

His neuroses have grown over the years.  He has abandonment issues.  He doesn’t like being confined in small spaces for too long.  He has a hard time being without other dogs (which is why he often stays with my mom and not me – she has 11 dogs, 2 pigs, and 2 horses).

But the core of Dakota is still there.  He cuddles with me.  He still lays on my chest like he did when he was a puppy.  He still bounces around when I come home like he did when he was a puppy.  He still likes to  play our rough-housing game.  He still likes to love.

He teaches me a lesson every day.  Sometimes I don’t recognize it for what it is until later, but he is always teaching me.

My emotions and love for him are great.  They are, at times, so strong that it scares me.  This little friend saved my life, brought me back to the land of living, and taught me how to love again.  I can’t even put a price on that. 

He is precious to me.

Dakota is on the right.  His daughter, Trixie (on the left), was killed in a tragic accident a year ago, November).  Trixie was my baby, too.