A Hug For Our Mopsy
We knew from the time she was eight months old that she had severe hip dysplasia so we counted each day with her as precious. The day we brought her home at six weeks the vet advised us to return her for other health problems. But after a few tears we decided no other family would love her like us and we kept her, which the vet later told us he was glad we did even though he had to give his professional opinion. The funny thing is in the end we were the lucky ones to have had such a great dog. Thanks for all the kind thoughts we have already received after my brother posted her passing. Please read the following tribute and look at our pictures. Then please give your Sheepie a hug for our Mopsy. I think I can: I always thought of Mopsy as a chicken but she was so brave when it came to her health and was always a trooper even though she was afraid to go to the vet. I used to say that “nobody told Mopsy her body doesn’t work” because she would find ways to compensate and sheer perseverance would get her through. She forced herself to get to her feet four times that morning and we had to make the decision her will wouldn’t allow. What’s in a name: She was my Bear, Daddy’s Pooey, Jack’s Baby & Pooh Bear, Brian’s Animal. She was also Mamaw’s (Grandma) Baby. Beauty Queen: She really was a beautiful sheepdog, and I had another sheepdog growing up, BUT she could care less about her appearance. Even though she won in the best looking category at a kid’s dog show her tail never wagged over being told she was a pretty girl. She loved to lye in the dirt. Mirror, mirror on the wall: The first time she saw herself in the mirror she barked at that “other” dog. The next couple of times I told her “it’s you” and you could see the little wheels clicking. It was a cheval mirror in my bedroom and I always got a kick out of her looking at herself. Sometimes we would be lying on the bed and I would say “look at how cute you are” and she would look over to the mirror. Until she couldn’t see anymore (cataracts) she would always take a look at herself when she walked by the mirror. Life’s a drag: When she was a puppy and had a toy in her mouth playing tug of war she would let her body go limp and wanted us to drag her around the floor – like a dust MOP. She stilled tried to do it when she was older but her teeth weren’t strong enough to hold on for 85 lbs. so she would only drag a few inches. It always made us laugh how she wanted to be dragged. A picture is worth a thousand words: She HATED having her picture taken. If she heard the click of the camera she would jump up and the yapping would begin. Yappety-Yap, don’t talk back: I always here people say that dogs are better than kids because they don’t ask for money and they don’t talk back. Frequently when Mops was corrected she would just talk back to me. In fact she loved to talk and I always felt bad that I didn’t know what she was saying because she was trying so hard to tell me. Who’s The Boss: This argument ensued between Mops and Brian for all 10 ½ years. She got along with her brothers great until they tried to tell her what to do then she was like “You are not the boss of me”. Jack figured he didn’t have any problems with her because he just let her think she was more alpha than him but I guess because Brian was bigger the two of them went round and round and he refused to concede to her. She let them give her pills, pull goop out of her eyes, wipe her paws, and followed basic instructions, BUT don’t tell her what to do – like get off Mommy’s bed! They say it’s your birthday: I discovered she loved the Happy Birthday song when I saw her go tearing down the hall to my bedroom. The news was on in the bedroom and they were playing a birthday segment that they were singing. I was in the bathroom at the sink with the door open and I called her back. I could tell when she came back to the bathroom door that she thought she had been missing something. After that we would always sneak down the hall on her birthday and wait in the kitchen with her presents and cake so we could watch her come running at the sound of her singing. She yapped whenever we sang it to the birthday honoree, including her. We sang it to her as the sedative kicked in on her last day. Oh can you hear the ice cream man: The sound of the ice cream truck coming always made her cry (typical sheepdog) or come running. When she was little we gave her popsicles from the ice cream man. When she couldn’t take those we gave her frosty paws and then lickety splits from the Three Dog Bakery. We would keep them in the freezer but buy something else from him. She didn’t know her treats weren’t from the ice cream man. She liked to go outside for the truck and wait for him. Sometimes he wouldn’t show and we would have another treat. Head Case: “The head thing” as we called it was this crazy thing she did where she would put her head to the floor with her butt in the air and then BODY SLAM her body to the floor. Then she would proceed to get SILLY. We know it couldn’t have been good for hips but then she did lots of things like that like standing on her hind legs. If we told her do “the head thing” she would do it. The lovey-dovey dog: Kisses and hugs particularly in the morning were her thing. I would squeeze her to hard and she would growl then I would do it just to tease her. Then we would say “hug” and she would growl. But if I asked her to come and give me a hug she always came and let me hug her. She loved to give kisses on the chin but be careful of your ears on ear kisses because your lobes frequently got bit. Gentle was NOT her middle name. A dog only a mother could love: Or a Daddy, or brother or Mamaw. While we adored our baby she was never good when people came over. She got too excited and liked to yap especially when people arrived or departed. If she liked you it was even worse because she would yap in your face for attention. However she was good if you stayed a while and when we had big parties. She was also good when we took her to places. I always felt bad that some family members and other people couldn’t get to see the side of her that we all loved and I blame my bad sheepie parenting skills for some of it. But we knew the best of her and that was what mattered. Every Day’s a Holiday with Mopsy: Mopsy loved every holiday and knew the routine each one entailed. Her Mamaw really got a kick out of that. I wrote and illustrated a children’s book for Brian and Jack of that title and theme as a memoir of Mopsy. I had it published and gave to them from Mops for Christmas. Little did we know how glad we were going to be that I had completed it. Brian had taken his copy back to school with him and was able to look at it the day we put her down. He said it helped. The Snapping Game: Mopsy came up with a game that made her brothers mad, especially Brian. When they would be playing with her she would stop and run over and hide under the rocking chair with the toy lying just in front of her mouth as bait. Then when they would go to reach for it she would lunge at them snapping and growling. If they distracted her by touching her on the butt she would turn around then realize it was just a ploy and turn around to “defend” her toy, sometimes too late. Or they would move the rocker and her fortress would be gone and she would have to wrestle for the toy all over again. It was just a game to her but Brian would tell her “I’m not playing that bad game” and then she would look real sad when he walked away. I always laughed because she thought it was fun and looked so disappointed when they refused to play it. Life Sucks: The best thing in life was sucking Teddy. He was her thumb and blankie all rolled into one. She always grabbed him when she was going to do something with us at home or when she went in the front room. You could tell when she was looking for him. There was not one Teddy though because there was only one suck paw which meant Teddy had to be replaced frequently as the suck paw got gross. But she would work intensely to get the new suck paw started. We had her Teddy cremated with her because he really was her security blanket. I know this has been long – but I could have gone on forever about my baby. I know you sheepie people understand, to paraphrase Jeep people, to others who don’t understand: You don’t get it, it’s a SHEEP thing! God Bless the soul of our Mopsy, who brought joy to our lives and truly made us a family of five. |
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| WOW! What a beautiful tribute to a beautiful dog. |
| I second that WOW
What wonderful memories you have of her. Bless you for not taking her back. but gave her such a great home with so much love. She was very lucky to have found you and you were lucky to have her in your life. My heart goes out to you and family.  |
| I would like to add that the photo's are outstanding.
She was a very happy sheepie due to you! |
| what a beautiful tribute |
| Very nicely done; a fitting tribute. |
| What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful dog. You words make her come to life for all of us.... and your memories of her so well described, your love for her just shines through. So sorry for your loss.... |
| A beautiful tribute to a much-loved dog. Beautiful pictures, too. You're in my thoughts in your time of grief.
Chris |
| I second the person who said that this was a beautiful tribute. The pictures are adorable and everything you said brought tears to my eyes--I loved it.
From the very first time that I came over to your house I could just see how much you loved Mopsy. She was not only your pet dog, but one of your greatest friends. I absolutely adored Mopsy. A couple days before you had to put her down I sat on the steps with her for about five minutes and just stroked her head. I was really excited because usually she would start barking when I touched her, but this time she just sat there and gave me kisses--she even gave me her paw. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen her do. I miss her terribly, and I am so sorry for your loss. It broke my heart to see you guys so upset, but I am so glad that you are remembering all the amazing times you had with her--it will really help you get through this. This tribute was beautiful and the pictures were adorable. I especially love the one of Jack sleeping with Mopsy laying on top of him. The one with Mopsy's head sticking out of the car window is adorable too. She was a beautiful dog and I will miss her! |
| That's beautiful! I don't know how you got through writing this as I'm bawling. Mopsy was a very special pooch! |
| Your tribute of Mopsy brought tears to my eyes and smiles at the same time, thankyou for sharing and thankyou for the photos too. Mopsy was one loved baby. Bless you all.
lisaoes |
| So sorry for your loss. Mopsy was blessed to have a loving family. Your tribute expresses that love. I have no OES to hug in her honor, so I'll send a cyber hug to you instead. God bless. |
| Hi SheepieMommy,
Your photos of Mopsy were amazing, they captured her spirit and allowed us insight as to the beautiful girl she was. How her photos and your captions let us know her better and what a tremendous loss her passing is to you and your family. I found myself experiencing all sorts of emotions when viewing her pics..from the awww of her puppyhood, to smiles at some of her antics to saddness she has left us. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tribute to Mopsey. Hugs to you all. Marianne and the boys |
| That was a beautiful tribute for a beautiful girl. I'm glad you have so many happy memories to help ease your pain. |
| Your pictures and tribute was absolutely wonderful.
Again I am very sorry for your loss |
| What a beautiful tribute
Kim & MAIZIE |
| Perfect Tribute to your baby. |
| Beautiful! |
| So sorry for your loss
A lovely tribute to your dog and some wonderful pictures . Hugs sent from me and mitch. |
| A really big hug to you. I lost my Katrina on January 14, 2002. It is still very painful. The pain never goes away just you get more smiles than tears over time. I loved hearing your stories of her personality. It is so cute that she liked the ice cream truck and didn't know her treats weren't from there. Very clever on your part it's hard to fool a sheepie. And I liked that she played limp during tug of war. I will give Hannah and Copper a Frosty Paw in Mopsy's honor. Here's to you Mopsy. |
What wonderful words. Having just lost mine it really made sense to remember all the good times instead of the latter months. Such wonderful pictures a fine example of this exceptional breed. 
Im sure mopsy and blaze are together at the bridge! xx |
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