A TRIBUTE TO PRINCESS ANGEL GALLAGHER
July 4, 1989 – January 28th 2009
By Lance D. Gallagher
February 1, 2009
As much as I have dealt with death in my life, you would think that writing a eulogy for my dog should be easy, but it isn’t. As a matter of fact, dealing with the death of my dog has been one of the most difficult things of my life. As you read her story, it is my hope that I do her justice without making myself and those who were closest to her sound like candidates for the nuthouse. She was just a dog after all, right? To some maybe, but to me she was a life lesson placed in my care by a loving God.
She was also my extremely loyal little friend who loved me without any conditions whatsoever. She had no idea that I am a wretched and sinful man; all she knew is that she loved me and nothing else mattered. I miss her more than words could ever come close to describing and without her, my life will never be the same. I have never cried harder than on the day that she went to play with Jesus.
I believe that my little friend is in the arms of the Savior, eagerly waiting for the day I can scratch her under her chin again, and I challenge anyone who is up to it to prove otherwise. I was employed in the trucking industry for many years and Princess traveled with me for a good portion of them. There aren’t very many states that she hadn’t traveled in, and some of those states hold different memories for me, due in large part to her antics.
She tried her best to teach me anger management, on more than one occasion proved that a stick of butter was the most precious commodity in the world with Holiday turkey, and “accidentally” dropped popcorn running a close second. I am sure that in her mind popcorn given to her on purpose just didn’t taste the same. It would be a lie to say that she was as smart as Lassie, because she wasn’t; as a matter of fact in a lot of ways she was kind of, well um, how can I put it, maybe less than smart? What she lacked in “smarts” she made up for in so many other ways. When she was young she could jump high enough to challenge any Jack Russell.
She could stand on her hind legs for an extremely long time and she could run fast enough to scare a cat. (She loved cats) Princess loved most people and loved to be the center of attention. I say “most” people because there were a few that she didn’t care for too much. One thing for sure is that she loved me, and that made me feel good. Sometimes she would sit and just stare at me for as long as she could. When Princess was about 8 or 9 years old
she went deaf without warning.
She quickly adjusted to being deaf in some pretty remarkable ways. When she could hear she knew when I was home by certain sounds like my car, or the sound of the garage door. After she became deaf, she developed a sixth sense of sorts that told her when I was within a half hour or so from home and she would stare at the door until I came in. It didn’t matter if I was gone for a week or several hours, she just knew. Each and every time I came home she would jump and go nuts like she just couldn’t believe that I was back! It would be like “it’s you, thank goodness it’s you!” I could literally go on and on for hours remembering my faithful little friend. She saw me through the best and the worst of my life and loved me through it all. When my daughter was born Princess was jealous, but as time passed she seemed to resign herself to the fact that my little one wasn’t going away. They even became friends.
The last night of Princess’s life I woke up and found that she had gone to my daughter’s room to sleep and I don’t have a clue as to why. Princess always slept right by me so she could “keep an eye on me”.
A few years ago she began to have seizures that would come several months apart. The seizures caused her hind legs not to work very well. I think that she also had mini strokes as she would go completely blind and then regain her sight after a few hours. She began to totally lose her sight in one of her eyes. Near the end she had a hard time walking at all.
The day I decided to have her put to sleep she had her worst seizure ever. After it was all over she looked at me as if to say “I love you more than words can express, but I am so very tired now; will you please help me?” As I watched the needle go into her and saw her draw her last breaths she looked happy, but my heart was and will always be torn apart. Her final act was to lick the hand of the person giving the shot.
I buried my little friend on a bluff overlooking the valley. I will miss her, and as long as I draw a breath, my heart will always have an empty spot in it. Till we meet again my loyal little friend; I will always love you.
Missing you,
| Princess Angel Gallagher |
| 28, Jan 2009 |
| Lance D. Gallagher |