On a frigid winter day (February 14, 2009, to be exact) in Denver, CO, a young couple decided to hop in their Jeep Liberty and take a trip to Boulder. This young couple had been together for 2+ years, and as is the nature of couples that have been together for a certain amount of time (you know, not quite ready for marriage and/or children but also ready to care for something other than themselves), they were looking for a puppy. They had been looking for a couple of months, but had not quite found exactly what they were looking for (not exactly true – the girl of this couple thought every puppy should be hers, the boy of this couple – not so much – and thank the Maker that the girl listened to the boy).

Because on that cold Valentine’s Day in 2009, the boy and girl happened upon a Pet Smart on their way to Boulder and something told the boy to stop at this Pet Smart. And inside of this Pet Smart the couple happened upon the cutest Chocolate lab puppy with the unfortunate name of Chocolate Kisses. She was lying in a crate, looking wholly unenthused with her direct neighbor, a yappy little chihuahua by the name of Chiquita. The girl sat right down in the middle of the floor next to this adorable pup with the terrible name and she did not leave. She sent the boy to find an employee so that she could claim this dog as her own. A very tall man approached the girl and the puppy, he asked the girl (thinking she was an employee apparently) if this dog was available for adoption, to which the girl replied with a resounding hard, swift NO! Not exactly true, since the girl had not yet adopted the dog but the girl knew this was her dog, the one the boy had been telling her to wait on, the one that was meant to be hers.

The boy returned with an employee and an application for Chocolate Kisses. The girl hastily filled it out, asking no less than 38 times how long before review and approval. The girl tended to be a bit of a pain in the ass when she found something she wanted. The boy and the girl stayed with the puppy for about quite a while, loving on her, playing with her, until the boy finally convinced the girl they had to leave. The couple never ended up making it to Boulder, for they had stayed too long at a random Pet Smart in Louisville, CO loving on a little dog picked up off the mean streets of Fort Collins, CO, and now looking for her fur-ever home (so cliche!). They made their way back to their little bungalow house in South Denver and spent their Valentine’s night thinking of this dog that they just knew was meant to be theirs.

The girl barely slept a wink that night, wishing, hoping and praying that Chocolate Kisses would become hers. She paced around the next morning, almost intolerably to the boy. He was quite irritated with her crazy but also knew nothing he said was going to change it. They got the phone call midday on February 15, 2009 that their application had been approved and they could come pick up their brand new baby girl that day. The girl screamed and cried and hugged the boy and off then went, back to the random Pet Smart in the random town on the way to Boulder, CO.

When the couple arrived to pick up their new baby girl, she was no where in sight. The girl was not pleased. Where was her baby? But alas, they found her tucked in the back storage room, just waiting for her new family. The couple spent far too much money on food and toys and a leash and collar, but they didn’t care. They wanted EVERYTHING for their new baby. The girl paid for the adoption fee (a bargain at $115) and for all the other things she was convinced her new dog needed and the couple set out to introduce their new puppy to the world. In hindsight, probably taking the brand new dog home to get acclimated to her new people and her new home would have been the optimal choice, but the couple chose to take her to Wash Park instead, the busiest park in Denver, full of humans and dogs and children and noise. Chocolate Kisses (who’s name had yet to be changed) was not amused. She was terrified. Her new parents were idiots. So the couple and their dog left pretty immediately. On the ride home, they discussed names for the new love of their lives. Since the boy was a golf pro, the girl suggested Birdie. The boy looked hard at the dog, studying her. He said there is no way this dog is a “Birdie”. She is definitely a “Bogey”. And just like that, we had our Bogey girl.

Bogey was a mama’s girl from the start. We did everything together. I worked later in the day, Ash worked super early in the morning. At first, Ash was a “no dog in the bedroom” guy until she consumed a carrot cake and an entire loaf of bread from the counter on night one. Then, he was a “no dog in the bed” guy until he left for work every morning and she jumped in to lay with her mama anyway, not giving two shits about his ludicrous rules. And finally, he was a “no dog on the couch” guy until Bogey and I gave him the proverbial middle finger and decided we didn’t listen to no man and w could do what we want (ha!). So, Ash would leave super early in the morning, Bogey would climb in bed, we would sleep until 9 am, watch our morning show of “Gilmore Girls”, then take our morning walk at Harvard Gulch Park, which was right across the street from our tiny little bungalow. I would go to work. Ash would get home sometime after me, I would return home around 7 pm and like clockwork, my little brown girl would try to climb in the windowsill to sit, wait and watch for me. Ash finally got smarter and started leaving the front door open so that she could sit, wait and watch for me at the screen door, thus saving the state of our poor blinds that she kept trying to climb through.

(Wo)Man’s Best Friend. She has been the most loyal companion, the sweetest, sassiest, laziest, squirrel hatingest, best dog I could ever have wished for. Bogey, Bogalicious, Bogart Brown, Brown Dog, Brown Girl, Dog Kellie (Ash dubbed her dog Kellie as her personality almost exactly mimics mine – kind sweet, kinda not, don’t touch me unless I want you to touch me, kinda moany and groany, but super cute and impossible to say no to (his words, not mine)).

Today, at 11 am, I will lose my baby girl forever. She has not been doing well, the vet thinks cancer, and, ironically, according to my research and google, it would appear to be liver cancer. She no longer eats. She can’t get up or down the stairs. There is no joy in her life any longer. The tiny bit that she does eat, doesn’t stay in. And it is just her time. And I am devastated. My number 1 best girl, my ride or die, my first baby. She has been the best dog, except for that time she tried to bite my face off because I had the audacity to bring home a baby. She thought she was the only acceptable baby. She has been with me through it all – marriage, babies, countless moves. She got to hike Red Rock Canyon, explore the Texas hill country, soak up the sun on the Atlantic coast. She’s explored the mountains, hesitantly swam in oceans, lakes and sounds. She’s claimed every piece of comfortable furniture we’ve ever owned. She has protected our house from squirrels with mighty barks and standing up mohawk hair. She watched her dad die and comforted her mom. She has done it all with us. She has seen it all with us. And today we say goodbye. My sweet brown girl, going to be with her dad.

I know it’s what needs to happen, for she is suffering far too much. But I tell ya, I’m about sick of saying goodbye to my family members. It’s not fucking fair. At least she got a full life, she’s almost 14.

Rest in peace, Bogey Brown Jones, tell your dad we say hi, know that we love you forever and be nice to the squirrels.

February 15, 2008 – August 30, 2021