Gennie 1998-2012

There are moments in life that mark the end of something really huge, something major, and remind you that no matter how young you think you should still be, time marches on whether or not you're ready for it to. I've been having a lot of those moments lately, that kind of started with turning 20 and entering the BFA program, having my first professional auditions and moving out of my parents house. But nothing is hitting me as hard, or breaking my heart as much, as my dog.

My dog Gennie has been with me and my parents since I was 6 years old when my aunt's dog Windy had puppies. Gennie was the second of the litter, and was the definite ring-leader of her brothers and sisters. Always the most spirited, my cousin, who was about the same age as me, named her Star for the white patch on her forehead that resembled a star. When my aunt asked us if we wanted a puppy (free of charge, for a pure-bred golden retriever, almost unheard of!), we went over to her house and chose Gennie. I remember very vividly holding her in my lap at 6 years old when she had probably only been alive for a few days. Her eyes were still shut and she could fit in my tiny hands like she belonged there.

Ever since then she's been an integral part of my family. Through her rambunctious stages where she'd chew up my mom's slippers and rip my shirt when jumping up and down on me, to throwing the ball down the green belt we lived next to, to her accidentally licking a wall socket and getting electrocuted and running into our glass door, through the years and years of steroid pills we gave her for her allergies and the time she ran across four-lane traffic and we thought she was going to die. But mostly I just remember taking her on camping trips and cuddling next to her in the tent, how she'd always come right up to me and put her head on my lap when I was crying, her chasing her own tail and never getting tired of it, how she'd just endure my dumb cat swatting at her nose when she wasn't doing anything to him, her getting in our faces whenever we had food demanding that she get some too, how her ears would perk up when she heard a word she understood, her enormous bellow of a bark whenever someone walked in the door, how she always took up far too much room in the back seat with me on car trips, and even though I complained vociferously, I was just glad she was coming with us.

This is my dog. Her full name is Gianetta della Casa Querchia Bella. Jennifer of the House of Beautiful Oaks. Gennie is what we call her, after my mom's childhood dog of the same name (the short, regular name, not the Italian one). She is 14 years and 2 months old as of March 12, 2012. She is the only sibling I've ever had, and my very best friend in the world. And today was the day that we had to put her to sleep.

So I will leave you, and myself, with all the pictures I've ever taken of her to commemorate the fantastic 14 years of her life. She was the greatest dog in the universe, and we frequently told her she was better than people. Because in all honesty, she was.

 So that was Gennie over the last couple years. And this was her today.

Goodbye Gennie. You were the best dog a girl could ever ask for. I hope you have the best time ever in Doggy Heaven.


Thanks for reading. <3


"The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." - Julius Caesar (Shakespeare).