4 years without Fray Fray

Someone was loved
London, ON
August 2014
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Four years ago today, we said goodbye to our pup, Frasier.

He was a 10-year-old rescued Miniature Schnauzer, and had spent most of his life as an insulin-dependent diabetic. He shamelessly ate garbage, jumped on the kitchen table (but couldn’t make his way back down without help), and misbehaved on virtually every walk he ever took.

I realize he was but one dog, and we’re privileged indeed if losing a pet is as bad as it gets. But he was one of us. Family. And he deftly wove his way into our very fabric.

Anyone who’s ever had a Schnauzer knows they’re special dogs. Sharply intelligent. Relentlessly stubborn. Hearts as big as the Moon.

When I was recovering from my stroke, he shadowed me like his life depended on it. He seemed to always know when and how we needed him, even as he lived from needle to needle, never once complaining about the less-than-charmed deck of cards he had been dealt.

That four years have passed and it still feels like yesterday reinforces how lucky we were to call him ours. With him, every day was a happy one, even if it might have felt a little maddening at the time. Schnauzers tend to have that effect on their humans. Calli is a very different dog, of course, but something tells me she would have adored him as much as we did. The Schnu is strong in her, as it was in him.

Funny enough, as difficult as milestones like today have become, I’d be infinitely more sad if we never had him in the first place. He was worth every crazy moment.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #dog #dogs #throwback #schnauzerpuppy #schnauzersofinstagram #schnauzergram #schnauzers #dogsofinstagram #instapuppy #photography #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything