I want to proclaim to the world what an amazing companion she was.
She was our first baby.
From the moment that Bob and I decided we wanted to commit our lives to each other, we knew we needed a four-legged love in our life. We picked up that little girl, and the first thing she did was roll over and give us her belly.
That was Scuba.
She loved us from the moment she met us, and how could we not fall in love with her.
We embarked on our life together as a team of three.
She was there as we worked through our long-distance relationship. She was Bob's buddy for about 1 year, and in that time they really forged their close relationship. He has always been her favorite, and I have always said, I can understand why she would love him so.
I remember her coming to stay with me in Athens. I remember walking around Park Hall, introducing her to my peers and colleagues, saying, "This is Scuba! Oh, and my fiance, Bob." Scuba always took first place in our lives.
She traveled with us to Boston, and we spent a lot of time exploring New England together. We planned our whole Vermont and Maine vacations around her. One of my fondest memories is going to to Boyden Valley Winery and sitting in the Adirondack chairs, sipping wine, and eating cheese. That, and fetching her in the water in Sorrento, Maine.
In Boston, on the days when I was weary of reading theory and making my brain work, I would pile all of her toys all over her sweet body and take pictures of her under her little mountain of toys. She would just lay there and humor me.
She came home with us and was our constant companion as we went through two pregnancies and two little wee children who grew to love her.
These two little children just don't seem to understand why she is not here anymore.
She was so patient with them, so loving. She was their Mama Dog.
Through every heartache I've had in the last ten years, Scuba was there for me. Whenever I have grieved and felt loss, I was always able to wrap my arms around her and sob into her beautiful, chocolate fur. She would lay there, patiently, and provide her constant comfort.
She filled our home with joy, with her boisterous welcome whenever we returned to her. With her precious morning kisses and her tail wags, resulting in cacophonous noise.
She loved us with protective loyalty.
She was always up for a ride in the car, or a swim in the pond, or a hike on any scrabble of mountain we could find. I remember heaving her up crags on Cadillac mountain and her joining us for serene walks with little boys in their backpack carriers around Pandapas Pond. And how she loved to chase the ducks (or just eat the bread we left for them).
She was our boon companion,
She was our Ruby; our Rhubarb; our Princess Scubins, Queen of the Prissy Paws. During my Harry Potter days, I may or may not have referred to her on more than one occasion as Rubius Scubrid. And she was also Scoobers. She was our Roo.
She was our very first baby, our four-legged best friend. She has always been, and will forever be, our "girl."
She will live on forever in our hearts.