Susie and Mosier

Mosier entered our lives in 1994 less than a year after my wife and I married. Susie came along shortly thereafter, and even though they looked like oil and water together, they were soon inseparable. In the ensuing years, they've been physically apart only a handful of times, times kept brief by necessity. In 14 years of marriage, they have been our constant companions and us theirs.

In March 2006, we were forced to say goodbye to Susie after a degenerative back problem stole her from us. It goes without saying that we were all sad, but Mosier was crushed. His entire world had been turned upside down. The man who couldn't stand being even a room away from his companion now had to carry on without her. As such, neither my wife nor I had much time to mourn Susie's passing. All of our emotion poured into pulling Mosier through his difficult time. Our feelings took a back seat, as well they should. This wasn't our loss as much as it was Mosier's.

Except for Mosier, I was Susie's closest relationship. She instinctively knew my moods and always took time to engage me in ways that alleviated sadness, enhanced joy, and calmed madness. When she was gone, Mosier grew much closer to me. So close, in fact, that he began to exhibit the same anxiety toward separation with me as he had with Susie. Looking back, I wonder if he was trying to hold onto Susie through me.

Whatever the reason, he became an even larger part of our lives. He grew closer to our son even staying in his room at night once. At one point, our son even said, "I wish I was Susie." After I asked why, he said, "So Mosier would be happy."

Three weeks ago today, Mosier was diagnosed with inoperable oral malignant melanoma. The Doctor gave him just two weeks to live due to the size of the tumor. Little did anyone know the aggressiveness of the cancer and even less so Mosier's resolve. He outlasted the Doc's estimate by a week living 2 full weeks with a tumor on his tongue at the back of his throat big enough to fill the normal void. Oddly enough, he seemed healthier and happier in his final 3 weeks than he had been since Susie died.

Yesterday, Mosier died. Now we mourn both Mosier and Susie. They were our adopted kids, our friends and confidants. Though I'm sure they miss us, at least they're now together again. They were good dogs.