Suze

Suzie is officially 100 dog-years-old. She is the sweetest trooper this world has to offer.
She's survived this long despite:
being an orphan on the streets for the first 3 months of her life,
getting hit by a car on Fair Oaks at the age of 1,
getting kicked by a horse,
meddling with a skunk and paying dearly for it,
narrowly escaping a near-death experience in the pool,
getting attacked last year by two bulldogs (at the age of 94), while sleeping, resulting in a cracked jaw, a broken tooth, and nerve damage causing the loss of her hearing and ultimately leading to a condition that put her on death's door for two months.
Nevertheless, she left both dogs bloody and limping. Good girl.

She has survived 14+ years of growing up with rough and tumble boys, and never missed a beat.
Racing skateboards down the driveway, pulling our shoes to make us go faster.
Biting at our feet on the rope swing in the front yard.
Barking underneath the trampoline.
Jumping the fence and demanding to be let inside the neighbors' house when we were over there.
Always ready to wrestle, biting just enough to keep tough, but never hard enough to hurt.
Racing around the pool and barking jealously because she couldn't join in on pool basketball.
Countless headbutting  wars.
Weathering the storm of a frustrated first-grader threatening to take her back to the pet store whenever she beat him in a game.

In her old age she refuses to eat her dog food unless it is enriched with hidden chunks of roast beef.
She barks because she can't hear herself, and she wants everyone to be constantly reminded of it.
She's old and knows she can get away with just about anything.



Her fur is long and black.
Her mug grey and wise.
Her tongue with black spots.
Her ears soft and floppy. The best ears.
Never turns down a good butt scratch.
The most docile and lazy thing you will ever see.
Barking at any and all potential invaders until they get too close, at which point she runs back 10 feet and starts all over.
Still goin'  strong.
Nothing warms my heart like she does.
The most precious thing in the world to me. 

What a girl.
My girl.

Suze.