Menina

In the end we couldn't wait until Sunday.

She was under observation for roughly 24 hours and every time they tried to ween her off the anti-seizure drip she would seize again, so it was simply kinder to let her sleep on. We asked the clinic to wait some 20 minutes so that we could go there for her.

She was already sleeping so she didn't even know we were there in the end. This is what is killing me right now. She didn't know we were there.

 

Menina (official name "Lizzie")
a.k.a. Mädchen, Mui Mui 妹妹
6-December-2005 - 3-August-2023

On 6 December 2005, it was the coldest day of the year as yet. I was walking our other dog, Peppie in the evening. While I was waiting for him to do his business, this little small black dog jumped up and sat on my lap, out of nowhere. "Ha? What are you doing here?" I asked her. A man walked past and she jumped off my lap to follow the man. So I thought "that's funny that he'd let his dog jump to any stranger's lap."

After a while, I was across the street and again waiting for Peppie to do his thing (male dogs, let them sniff) and I turn around and I see this little dog again. "Oh, so that guy isn't your owner?" And as I walked away, she followed me, until crossing a street and she was hesitant to follow me. A bus was approaching, and she was standing in the middle of the street. So I told her to "come on, come with me!" And that's how she came with me home.

Facebook and other social media were pretty new back then. I did try to make a post to look for an owner, but no bites. Our neighbor then said she thinks she saw some school kids terrorizing this dog. As with all strays that comes across our home, it's their forever home, pronto.

We got her neutered and had her registered. Her license name is official Lizzie but no one has ever called her that. We just keep calling her "Menina" (girl) and dad calls her Mädchen (also girl) and in Chinese Mui Mui 妹妹 (also girl).

 

I'm really gutted. As I said to the vet, it should come as no surprise, given her age. But the damn timing of it all it really haunting me. I shouldn't have let her have that eye surgery. But I know it had nothing to do with that.

Menina will be dearly missed.