Katie

Katie + June

"She stayed with me the whole time. She never left my side."  June, about Katie, a miniature Dachshund who walked her through her twenties, her wedding, her greatest joy and her deepest loss. 💛 Because when she couldn't find the words, Katie just stayed. 

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Because when I got her, I was only in my early twenties. and she went all the way through until my late thirties. it's pretty cool. Tell me about the day that you, met Katie. Okay. So we had this pet store in Val Me and, the guy that I was with at the time, we went out there and there was two of them. There was a, Katie was a miniature dachshund, and she was in a pen with her brother. he had long hair. He was a long-haired like red Dachshund. And then she was the short-haired red dachshund. And we got both of them out. 'cause we didn't know which one we wanted to get. Right. And you have to see who they picked. both of them were really cute. And very playful but. Katie just won my heart. I always wanted a long haired dachshund, but she was just, I don't know. She was just the one, and I just, I knew, I just knew that she was the one I wanted. they're always so cute as puppies and you know, they, they run and I don't know, puppies are just like the cutest. But yeah, she was the one, I just knew it, did you have dogs growing up? we had lots of dogs and cats, and we had a lot, and I've always grew up with dogs and they were bigger. We never, I never had a miniature dachshund, but When I got in my twenties and started my own journey as an adult, I wanted a miniature dachshund. And so that's what I got. I love that she sounds. It was a perfect, perfect meeting, and meant to be. I am curious to know, how you chose her name. Yeah, so it's really weird. When we were thinking about getting a dog. I always liked the name Katie I used to have a friend when we lived in Florida and her name was Katie and I just thought it was the neatest name Katie just sounded really cute. It fit her personality and that's kind of how it came about. I just love the name Katie and I was like, if we get a female dog, it's name's gonna be Katie. Gotta be Katie. did you she was little. Did you carry her around in a purse? I don't know. I'm envisioning L Woods right now, Gina. So it wasn't a purse, but I had the pink stroller. You know, they make those dog strollers. I just knew. Yeah. she was, that's so cute. She had the dresses and I made necklaces for, I mean, she had the bling collars. I made little necklaces for her to go over with her collars and she wore dresses and like I had a whole section of dog dresses in my closet that were just hers. She was a little fashionista. she was a little spoiled thing. And then, like I said, I had, the pink dog stroller. Yes. That's amazing. how would you describe her in three words? fun. She was, just exciting. She loved to swim. Really? Yeah, she loved to swim. And her little tail, it was so funny when she would jump in the pond or in the pool She would swim and her tail, was like a little propeller. It would just go round and round and she would go all around. She loved to swim. You wouldn't think that with a miniature dachshund, but she loved it. Yeah, it sounds like she, she embraced life in all, all that I had to offer, a little, little adventurer. did you take her on any, trips that stand out or how did you spend your time with her? Oh yeah, she, she went on all the trips. It, it didn't matter. she went on all the trips. back then, like the dog seats weren't that popular, but, she would, she would go with us all on trips. We put a blanket in the back. If we went on vacation, she would go on vacation with us. If we ran to the store, she would come with us. she was like our kid, We didn't have kids at that age. And you said that she was in your wedding, is that what you said? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Was she your maid of honor? She wasn't my maid of honor, but my maid of honor, walked her down the aisle and I made this blue satin dress for her and a satin leash that, my maid of honor walked her down the aisle with. I was actually looking at pictures of the wedding and her in that dress the other day, so I'll have to definitely send you pictures. Yes, I would love that. I would love that. so she was there for your wedding. any other big, milestones in your life? I mean, she went on the honeymoon. You know, you're not the only person that I've interviewed who's said that. yeah. She went on the honeymoon with us. if you marry me, you marry the family. Katie's my family. it was just such a, it's such a weird part of your life when we got her. So she went through my twenties with me where, you're going out and doing all this fun stuff because now you're kind of an adult. she went through that stage with me and I can remember like rushing around to get to work. 'cause you never get to work on time. And at that age. Yeah, and I can remember, like one of the funny stories is I couldn't find her. in the morning times I thought I had lost her. I called my brother and was crying he went over there, searching all over for her. He ended up finding her. in the midst of rushing around, I had closed my drawer and she was sleeping inside So she was actually in my drawer and he found her. She had been really spoiled. She was our only child and we decided to have a human child, we didn't know how she was going to react to that. when I got pregnant, the child was healthy I actually had a complete placental abruption. he had a lot of special needs because of that. And we were just so scared that Katie was going to not react good anyway to a child. And now we had a special need child that we were bringing home. Mm-hmm. And, you know. It was, it was kind of, I don't know. It was amazing how Katie took to him his name was Caleb. it was like Katie was his guardian. she knew, and I'll have to send you pictures of that too, because I have pictures of, he was laying on his little, Those round, round pillow And Katie is sitting right behind him the whole time, or I'm holding him. Katie's, you know, sitting Right. Guardian. She was the guardian. I love that. Yeah. it's like she knew that he was special, and that she needed to be careful we expected jealousy So she stepped up to the role that she needed to be. and she protected him. she was little, but she was a protector. I'll have to tell you that story too. she was wild. she sounds super fun not many people Describe their dogs that way. she had a sweet spirit for sure. Yeah, she did. And then, we were trying to get into The special needs parents mode and you know, Katie was going through that with us and everything. when my son was two and a half, he actually passed away because of the complications when he was born. And, sorry, you. Katie, you could tell that Katie felt a loss because she kept looking for him. she would look for him, get on his blankets or she couldn't get into his bed because his bed sat so high. she could tell something was wrong and obviously, we were. We were going crazy, you know? Right. Trying to deal with it. she stayed with me that whole time and it was just like, I was the person that didn't wanna talk to anybody when I was going through it. Mm-hmm. I would just lay upstairs in my bed and just going through it. And I mean, it's child loss. obviously it's hard. she stayed with me the whole time and never left my side. I took off like three weeks and then went back to work. she stayed by my side the whole time, eventually, Caleb's dad. and I got a divorce, with all the complications that went on it was just me and her in the house, you know, and she stayed by me 'cause that was another big thing that, you know, I had to go through. And, she was just there. She was just there. I know that's like Debbie Downer stuff, but, she was just there with me, you know, and I mentioned earlier that she was a protector I think she weighed maybe five pounds, seven pounds maybe at the most. I can remember going to the store and coming back and we couldn't find her one day. And she had gotten to a fight with a fox out here where we live 'cause we live in the middle of nowhere. And she broke her neck and yeah, she broke her neck and we take her to the hospital. And she was in there for a week and they said, she's not gonna be able to walk anymore. And she did. I put her in her stroller and for a week we went around and did things she ended up walking again and she recovered from it she couldn't swim. That was the only thing. She couldn't swim anymore. She was just protecting the house such a source of strength. And she went into my thirties with me. And then when, I was in my late thirties. She ended up passing away and, she would've been 19. but she was, Just an awesome dog. Just fun. She was fun. Now she was bad, you know? Like, I think all the dogs that are really bad when they're puppies, turn out to be your favorite, most memorable dogs. Yes. And that sass kind of keeps 'em going. she had it all. She was sassy. She was my sassy pants. Is there a song that reminds you of her? I mean, it's hard, right? 'cause it was like she was in your twenties. And then your thirties and like through, there's probably multiple songs, but what would you say is the greatest lesson that she taught you? Just understanding. I always loved animals and I was always the person that was going to have animals, but just how understanding animals are and how intelligent they are. I guess I knew that, but just watching her through every phase that I had to go through and went through, it's just. I don't know. Understanding, understanding they are. And patience. Yes. A lot of patience. Yeah. what a gift to have through all those stages in your life. Miss Katie. Oh Yeah. Miss Katie, miss Sassy Pants.