Koda had dental surgery recently. She had a couple of cracked molars that had to be extracted. She’s doing fine and aside from learning how to navigate chewing with less teeth she is back to her regular feisty self.

Koda would be under general anesthesia for the procedure so she couldn’t eat after 8:00 the evening before. No big deal. We are mostly early risers up and about by 6:30 am or so. My normal routine with the girls is to let them outside to take care of “business” and then return inside for breakfast. This means that they are usually eating by around 7:00 am or so.

But on this particular morning of Koda’s surgery she couldn’t eat and she wasn’t due to the vet until 8:30. We decided that Holly would feed Kloe once I left with Koda. No big deal.

And it wasn’t. A big deal that is… When the girls came inside from taking care of business I was at the kitchen table with my cup of coffee and iPad reading and they each laid down next to me and mostly went back to sleep. And then it hit me. If Kali were still with us it would have been a GREAT BIG DEAL!

Kali was an incredibly flexible and easy going dog. She went with flow. She readily adapted to life in America as a five year old rescue from Taiwan. She didn’t miss a beat when we added another puppy (Kloe) to the pack. And then within a few weeks later we moved to the mountains. No big deal for Kali!

When no big deal is A BIG DEAL

But meals for Kali were A BIG DEAL! Until the day she crossed The Bridge meal time was A BIG DEAL. To get an idea of how big a deal it was think of Snoopy from the iconic Charles Shultz creation “Peanuts” singing and dancing to the song “Suppertime“.

Dinner time for the girls is usually around 6:00 pm.

When Kali was with us dinner time was always at 6:00 pm. Also being a creature of habit and routine I was usually sitting in my recliner watching the evening news by 5:00. By 5:15 or so Kali would position herself somewhere between me and the cupboard where her food was stored. She’d lay there looking at me with her eyes laser locked on me. She seemed to use every ounce of her Golden subliminal powers to make me rise from my chair, move to the cupboard, and feed her. She didn’t flinch or seem to move a muscle the entire time. I could feel the heat of her laser locked eyes on my neck but I was always resolved to finish watching the news. On occasion I would dare to look her way and make light of the situation. “I see you Kal” I’d say. “It’s getting close but you know, if you could tell time you’d see it’s not quite six o’clock yet. [chuckle] If you had opposable thumbs you could fix your own dinner. [guffaw] C’mon you can do this. Trust me. I have faith in you.” In spite of my chuckles and occasional guffaws Kali found none of this funny. She would remain motionless and maintain her laser locked stare on my jugular. The only thing that seemed to change was the intensity of the laser energy she was preparing to launch my way in order to get my butt out of my chair. But Kali was smart. She also knew that if the laser was too intense it could knock me out or worse. Then she’d really be up a creek without a food bowl! So she would then ratchet the power down to stun…

Six O’clock would eventually arrive and I would announce: “The time has come!” This proclamation would break the trance Kali had worked herself into. She would stand and begin her dance; the twirls, the head nods, and the tap tap taping of her nails on the kitchen floor. (See Suppertime above)

This is how meal time was with Kali. Breakfast wasn’t much different except the wait time was shorter but the expectations just as high.

So on the morning of Koda’s procedure, as I sat there with my coffee and the two unfed Red Girls by my side, I thought of Kali. My sweet princess. My “heart dog”. My easy-going, take-it-how-it-comes-girl. My whatever-works-for-you-works-for-me-sweet-angel.

And I chuckled and thought to myself: If Kali was here this would be A GREAT BIG DEAL!

Kali: ready to fire a warning shot towards me with with her specially fitted laser glasses