Pippi’s Journey – Another H2E Alumni

It was 2010. I had made the choice I was old enough to have my own dog. I was freshly 17. I put in application after application in with my heart set on a chihuahua. Each one was taken or my applications were denied. I felt the odds were against me, until only what I’d call a miracle occurred. It was the first week of October. My mother decided to call a rescue in Ohio (From Heaven to Earth Rescue) that we had gotten my grandfather’s beagle from- there was no guarantee they would have a chihuahua, let alone a chihuahua puppy as there weren’t any on the website available. By the grace of God ‘Precious’ had been adopted but returned. That was my Pippi. I will never believe we weren’t meant to be- the odds of that alone, I couldn’t believe it was working out for me. We were scheduled to pick her up on Saturday, my mom’s alternator in her car blew, but our neighbor put one in practically overnight to ensure we made our trip on Sunday. The shelter stayed open for us. I remember riding the whole way there with a little pink bed in my lap- I remember what a gorgeous fall day it turned out to be, specifically how blue the sky was. I can still hear my mother saying as we pulled up to the shelter, “look how cute she is Lauren!”. She was the cutest angel baby I set my eyes on. The woman was waiting with her outside and God I remember the first time she handed her to me. We drove back home from Ohio the same day. Pippi slept on my head that night, I remember it was her favorite thing to do. What most of you may not know- is Pippi had a heart murmur from day one- the immense love and care I gave to her kept her here far past what was being granted to her from a medicinal standpoint. From there, she accompanied me through the birth of Sophia, my high school graduation, my license, my first heartbreak, my last heartbreak, moving back and forth from Florida to NY, my 21st birthday and my 30th milestone- just to name a few. She wasn’t just a dog; she was my soulmate. Life will never be the same without her, but I know if love could have kept her around forever, she would have been. I always begged her in her old age to go comfortably and not make me make the decision because, although I would have, I wanted it to be peaceful for us both, but most importantly her. She followed through full circle on being my best friend in the entire world until she left me at almost 33 years old. Passing away Sunday January 25th at home in my arms …. where I had begged her to go. We grew up together, side by side. I’ll never have a regret- I love you Pippi, until we meet again. I hope you did a big shake a stretch when you made it over the bridge. I’ll be there one day 💖 thank you everyone for the support… it’s meant the world to me. Please hug your fur babies tight- because right now all I feel is that I blinked, and our time was over ❤️‍🩹