I know this blog is about Joanna and me preparing to have a baby and my thoughts/fears/excitement about becoming a father; however, a traumatic thing happened about 2 months ago that I need to chat about.
On June 12, my dog of nearly 14 years passed away. While she was certainly and older dog who was slowing down and having some bladder control problems, she had been a major part of my life for so long that it has been hard to fathom she is no longer with me. Many of you reading this met Josie at some point and I honestly don't recall one person who spent any amount of time with her that did not think she was one of the sweetest dogs they had ever encountered.
I got Josie in September of 1997 when I was working at the NCAA in Overland Park, KS. Some friends of Shane and Emily Lyons found her as a stray in St. Joseph, MO, which is how she got the name Josie. Shane and Emily knew I was interested in getting a dog so they got me connected with their friends. The moment I met her, I was hooked. The vet guesstimated her age to be about 9 months so her "birthday" became January 15. She and I immediately bonded and I still remember taking her for walks around the apartment complex I lived in at the time. One of my favorite memories of that time with her was taking her to the great dog park in the area with her buddy Dee (Shane and Emily's dalmatian) and wearing her out to the point she would fall asleep on the drive home.
Around January 1998, Josie developed her trademark personality trait of constantly going in circles to her left (except when chasing rabbits, birds, a ball, etc.). I took her to a couple of specialists in the KC area and the conclusion was a possible tumor on her vestibular nerve, which distorted her sense of equilibrium. There was no way to tell exactly what it was without doing an MRI at the cost of approximately $1,000. Even then, there was no guarantee that it could be fixed so I decided to let it go since it clearly did not affect her appetite or disposition. She stayed that way for the remainder of the time I had her and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I had to explain her condition.
All in all, Josie was with me when I moved from KC to Indy, from Indy to Lubbock and from Lubbock to Fort Mill, SC. She was with me when I was passed over for a promotion at the NCAA, when I got a promotion at Texas Tech and when I ultimately became commissioner of the South Atlantic Conference. She lived in seven different apartments/town homes/houses with me and met quite a few females in my life, including my wonderful wife, Joanna. My point with all this is she was the one constant in my life of highs and lows for nearly 14 years. The scary thing for me to think about was Josie was part of my life nearly as long as my mom was (my mom died when I was 17).
As strange as it sounds, I really think having her in my life has prepared me to be a father. Before people start freaking out thinking I am comparing owning a dog to being a parent, let me explain. From September 1997 until June 2011, I was forced to become more responsible, patient (stop laughing!), nurturing and loving. I always had to think about how she would be cared for when I had to go out of town, when I could get home to let her out, when and what she could eat, etc. I truly believe my experience with her will help me be a better father.
I hate that our baby never got to meet Josie, but her spirit lives on in the house. Her buddy of 8 years, Shortstop (the cat) misses her and sill occasionally goes to the back door waiting for her to come back in the house. Even though Joanna does not particularly care for dogs, she has been a great support the past 2 months and I think we will get a new dog at some point in the next several years (no pressure blue eyes!).
I promise the next entry will be about the baby on the way!
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