my best furriend

welcome to my shrine of my angel dog, willow!

miss willow was my childhood dog. she was with us for almost sixteen years, leaving just two weeks shy of the date we got her. overall, she was a very strange dog! she had earned quite a reputation for being mean and grumpy and aggressive, and in a lot of ways, she could be! we did pick the pup of the litter that kept trying to fight the other pups... but in truth, she was really a strong-willed dog that valued her personal space and her people.

in that way, she was also very protective. my favourite quirk of hers was that she hated anyone waking me up. when my mom used to wake me up in the morning for school, she'd often tell willow "let's go wake up natalie!" and willow would get mad and start barking. if anyone said the phrase, she would get all riled up and defend my bed. even when i was awake!!

she would get riled up when me and my brother would play-fight, too. she'd start barking at us as if telling us to stop. at times it'd be hard to tell who she was protecting!! as a result, we started affectionally calling her the sheriff. when she'd start barking, we'd go "oh better stop, the sheriff is in town" and give it a rest. for a dog that loved play-fighting with us too, she took her job very seriously!

my favourite memories of willow are cuddling with her in my bed. she wasn't a lap dog by any means, and absolutely hated being grabbed or picked up. but if she was already in my bed and i snuggled up to her, she'd lay with me for a while. even when she kept her space, she always liked to be near me.

in my mind she is always basking in the sun. i hope that somewhere she is.