The Canine Mafia, Part 3 (The Passing of the Amazon)

Joni (shown in photo) holds the distinction of being the first of our poochies to take her ride down the so-called Rainbow Bridge after Marge’s conception and eventual birth, as well as through the course of my blogging. ( http://www.rainbowbridge.org/ or try googling “rainbow bridge”…)

The above point is significant to me for a couple of reasons. First, with Marge already around, it becomes an interesting study on how we will feel about the loss of one of our supposedly “substitute children” now that an actual human infant descendant has been produced (a.k.a. Marge). The other point is that Joni will be the first canine recipient of an online eulogy here at my fledgling blog…

Both points can and will be addressed via the eulogy…

I’ll start off by saying that Joni is also the last of the children of the union that was Stolich II (the patriarch), and Soda (the late matriarch). The other remaining member of their bloodline apart from the aging patriarch is Jennifer, who is the child of Soda and JM, who is the last born child of the patriarch and the late matriarch. So oddly enough, Jennifer was a child of canine incest…

Joni’s most remarkable trait was that she was a friend to all the other dogs. She absolutely didn’t mind playing the lackey or henchwoman. Given her size (hence, the nickname “Amazona”), she could have bullied the others easily. But it was more than amusing to find her bringing chunks of food up to bed to a young, lazy Jennifer way back, while Jennifer just kept on being a bitch to everybody, including her.

Joni was never demanding. She didn’t make a fuss when she wasn’t brought to the other room where Baby Marge was, didn’t bark her head off just to demand and get attention. But was always happy and grateful for whatever attention she did get. It was both what made her endearing, but admittedly a tad short-changed. Sometimes, it was all we could do to just pick up the other more demanding ones so they’d shut up. Joni was content to just keep hanging around, and followed the others in whatever game everyone else was playing.

One of the most memorable movie moments on my list is from Brad Pitt and Sir Anthony Hopkins’ “Meet Joe Black.” When Sir Anthony was about to go off with ole’ Brad, he tried to stammer an apology to his elder daughter played by Marcia Gay Harden, and her character’s answer was just plain beautiful. Here’s a transcript I found online:

Harden: After all, you've been a wonderful father.

Hopkins: Yeah, well, I haven't been the father to you that, uh...

Harden: That you've been to Susan? (Susan is the other daughter played by Claire Forlani)

Hopkins: I wasn't going to say that…

Harden: …Oh, God. More than that, Daddy, more than that.I've felt loved, and that's all that matters. So, never mind favorites. You're allowed to have one.

The point is, you've been mine.

* * * * *

For what it’s worth, I’ll admit Joni wasn’t our favorite, but we loved her like we did everyone else.

And the simple answer is no. No, losing Joni doesn’t hurt any less. Baby Marge has affected every aspect of our lives in a bright and sunny way, but having her didn’t mean our dogs were any less precious. And my wife still cried. (Yeah, so did I…)

And we still miss her. Just like we still miss Stolich I, Soda, JM, Joey, Doggie Marge, Jumbo, Princess, and Bambi.

* * * * *

We didn’t know if the ehrlickia came before or after Joni was copulated by Happy (the undersized newbie poodle…) and may have had or caused the miscarried pregnancy that started all the bleeding. But it seems that everyone in the house was struck with it, and now every dog in the house is on doxycycline.

After a month of the antibiotic, we drive everyone back to the Makati Dog & Cat Hospital near Rockwell, and hopefully, the blood numbers will be better…