Annabel (Boo Boo) Miller, 10/31/2010-7/14/2025 (because of course she had her government name and nickname)
You can read the post I made on Celebrating My Daughter’s Birthday to learn about the origins of my relationship with that goofy, 7-pound ball of Pomeranian fur. That was composed in 2018, and we got to be entertained and sometimes supported by her (because she often seemed to know when I was extra stressed and would become extra cuddly, comforting me as I often did her) for another almost 7 years.
We knew that this move we made in 2023 would probably be her last, but it gave her a bigger house and space in which to run, and get into our spaces randomly (she would sometimes come into my room soundlessly then be surprised when I shut the door and she got stuck inside). She also emerged from my laundry pile once. Imagine my surprise when, as I folded and put away clothes, I felt a little paw tapping my hand. “Hey, how did you get in there!” This was her house and we were just living in it.
I guess she figured I was more the beta and my wife the alpha, as she used to try and get me to lift her down the stairs if I either came in from working in the office or once I had completed remote work in my room. (Speaking of which, I once opened my door and found her asleep just outside of it in the hallway, leading us to joke that her job was to monitor me and make sure I was doing mine, but the queen only worked when the queen wanted). As soon as she heard my wife’s voice though, she would stand at the top of the stairs and bark her little head off until she was collected. Then she’d tap dance around the kitchen getting underfoot, knowing that the humans were about to eat and pointedly ignoring her already-available dog food in the hopes of obtaining little morsels of whatever we were having.
We also had silly arguments. She liked to bark at me as I approached the stairs, I guess wanting to keep me safe or alert my wife of my pending movement. I told her to “hush,” and she made a low bark that sounded suspiciously like she was talking back to me. I said “hush” again, and she did the low bark again. I said “hush” a third time, and she low-barked a third time. “Are you arguing with me?” I asked, laughing as I descended into the stairwell.
I had so much fun with that dog. I’ve encountered several dogs over the course of my life, from the somewhat untrained Shannon, a Doberman/German Shepherd mix we had as kids, to Sade, a terrier my cousin had in 2004. But none had been in my life as long as Boo Boo was, a little over 10 years.
She started to suffer though, so we had to make the difficult decision to put her down. My wife and I stood with our hands on her little body as her quivering and fast breathing steadily slowed, and I silently said “bye bye Boo Boo.” Eventually, all was still. It was a profound experience, and ultimately I’m glad I was there as she left us. She will definitely be missed.