DOGS OF OUR LIVES – MIDNITE THE HEROINE

Midnite was half black lab and half collie according to the people at PAWS. She was Thor’s reward for having a good school year; and, besides, every kid needs to have a dog of their own at some point. The fact John and I missed having a dog had nothing to do with the decision.

Thor and I went to PAWS and he stood around and then began to play with some of the puppies up for adoption. After he settled on one, we had our first experience with the bureaucracy that accompanies getting a dog or cat. We could not take the dog home right then. She had to be spayd first and we had to be checked out.

How long would she be alone each day? Who would be her main caregiver? Would we be crate training (recommended) her? We filled out all the forms, answered all the questions and left empty handed but with the knowledge we’d return in a day or so and bring her home.

When we returned, she was ready to go. Thor decided he’d ride in the backseat with his dog and think about names. On the way, due to excitement, fear or whatever, the puppy took a dump. I was not especially enamored at this point, but she was Thor’s and by the time we got home, he had decided on a name, Midnite…so original.

That car poop wouldn’t be the last and was just a preview of what was to come. Whenever Midnite was nervous (or wanted to get even maybe), she pooped. One of her favorite things was to stand right behind you and poop so if you weren’t careful, and stepped back, you had to clean your shoe(s). John took her to PetCo to have her photo taken…she dropped turds all the way down the aisle to the photographer.

Midnite was an affectionate, smart and wonderful dog. She was the perfect companion for Thor and followed him around the neighborhood and beyond. Even though she never went to class, Midnite was great on a leash and accompanied me from home to the grocery store where she patiently waited for me to get my shopping done. John would then come and pick us and the groceries up (she never pooped in the car on these trips).

Something else Midnite was known for was opening presents. She thought every single birthday or Christmas present was wrapped just for her. One year, we even had a doggie birthday party for her and invited two of the neighbor’s dogs. They were placed on chairs at the table. A dog food cake, iced with dry cat food was placed on the table with a candle. The birthday song was sung, the candle blown out and the cake served on plates. Of the three dogs at table, Midnite was the only one who ate her cake at the table…the other dogs had to have their plates placed on the floor. Then, her favorite part…opening her presents.

In 1998 or 1999, Midnite became the family heroine, and for her bravery in saving Thor’s life, she was allowed to sneak onto the furniture to sleep without a cross word and provided with many treats.  John had left the day before for Florida, so it was just me, Thor, Midnite and the cats at home. In the middle of the night, something woke me up, but I couldn’t figure out what. I decided to get up and go to the bathroom. I opened the bedroom door to the hall, smelled smoke, and reached for the light switch just as Thor threw open his door and he and Midnite rushed into the hall.

          “Do you smell smoke?” I asked.

          “Yes, my bedroom’s on fire.” He responded

What he actually meant was that his bedroom had been on fire. What woke me up was Midnite jumping on Thor’s bedroom door and when no one came to open it, she threw her 90 pound self on top of sleeping Thor and woke him up.

What he saw when he opened his eyes was his desk on fire. Though he had never done this before, that night he took a candle to his room, placed it on top of his desk sans candleholder, lit it and began to play video games, positive he’d not fall asleep. Boy was he wrong.

We have no idea how long the fire smoldered…it melted several CD holders, the desktop, his phone and had finally broken into flames when Midnite woke him. Meanwhile, the smoke from the smoldering was black and thick and when it hit the ceiling, it rained back down so everything, including Thor and Midnite, was covered with soot. Thor used his pillows to douse the flames, pulled down the blinds and threw open his window. The next day, you could see where smoke leaving his room made marks on the white paint of the house.

When Thor moved out on his own, he couldn’t take Midnite. This was fine with John and I because that meant we still had someone who was delighted to see us every time we came home. Someone who went from sleeping in Thor’s room to sleeping in our room. Someone who gave love and kisses and attention. Someone who depended on us to be there for her.

When the time came for Midnite to make her last trip to the vet, Thor came home and dug a hole under the apple tree even though he said he was going to leave her at the vet’s to be cremated. Dinner was almost ready when he and his dad came back from the vet with Midnite…Thor had changed his mind about cremation.

So, she joined her predecessors under the apple tree. Unfortunately, we never were able to harvest Midnite apples from the tree. Apple maggots had invaded so any apples that grew to maturity were bad, plus the tree’s ability to grow fruit had diminished to almost nothing. Still, she rests there in peace.