This afternoon my mom called me crying with the news that Penny was going to have to be put to sleep. I had always hoped that Penny would pass away while I wasn't in San Diego because I think it would be too sad to handle.
My mom brought her to the vet in a towel. Our little 14-year-old Penny was shaking but very calm. My mom held her head as they put her to sleep. She said the whole process was peaceful which I'm sure it was (while I'm reviewing scenes of
Marley & Me in my mind trying not to cry too much).
We bought Penny, the Jack Russel Terrior for $100 dollars when she was a year old. Her previous owners said she needed more attention and she was too much to handle. So we took her to our house where she lived with 9 kids +. She was the perfect addition to a crazy, kid-filled family.
Anyone that knew the Collins family knew our dog. Penny left impressions on everyone-- good and bad. The neighbors knew her as the "dog that stands in the middle of the street". Kids knew her as a spastic dog or as she got old and senile "the dog that nipped at me". Many knew her as the Collins' fat dog that kind of resembles a seal pup. Some knew her as the "the dog that humped me" or visitors to our house knew her as " the dog that snuck into my car that I didn't notice she was in there until I was half way home". Either way, Penny had a lot of personality.
She lived through it all. Kids hitting, pulling, tugging her. She once jumped out of the car window after seeing a squirrel. Being attacked by a German Shepard. Kids thinking it was funny to pull her tail. Attacking her dinosaur puppet as a way of entertainment for others. She was a champ.
Penny wasn't very good at going on walks or runs because she would sniff around every second. She was overweight most of her life because she was our family vacuum cleaner and my mom fed her chocolate cupcakes that the kids didn't finish.
You may think that it is silly that I make all this fuss about a dog but I was really attached to Miss Penny.
She was my best friend.
She jumped through hula hoops with a little skirt on when I conducted a circus in my backyard. (there was probably lunch meat waiting on the other side for her)
She laid with me in my bed when I was being an extremely emotional teenager.
She understood me and stayed with me.
Most of the time she was obedient.
She listened to me and was always happy.
She thought she was one of the family. Seriously, I think she thought she was a kid.
She was a smart dog. If you left a whole pizza on the dining room table, she was smart enough to jump up and only eat the pepperonis off (leaving the cheese in perfect condition) in hopes that no one would notice.
She was always up for a drive. And while you rode in the car, she would climb up and lay across your shoulders behind your head like a neck pillow (even during her heavier days).
She would let you pose her for pictures as "cash money dog"
She would even wear the poncho you bought for her from Tijuana.
She was an awesome little dog and the Collins Family Mascot.
My little Penny dog, my forever pup... I will miss you!
