Ember Unleashed:

So, my aunt's dog Scruffy had puppies. The spring of my junior year of high school. She brought up a crate with a scaredy cat of a puppy. I spoke to her sweetly as I patted the ground to get her attention.

"What are you going to name her?" My aunt asked loudly.

As I examined the wavy coat dog, with a reddish undercoat. The name came to me Ember! "Her name is Ember," I announced. As her coat looked like a glowing coal.

My dad and I spent the next few hours sawing holes for the new dog doors.

Ember was unsure about the smallish door. She looked at the plastic flap like it was spanking her. For the next few days, she whimpered at the door waiting for me to open the back door; and take her out to go potty.

My dad and I secured a dog run with some spare wire and left over metal stakes from the chicken run. She seemed to be very content in her bathroom area. Wagging her tail and sniffing around the grass.

So I did a run through with her, before my sister and I headed to catch the bus. As I was stepping into the threshold. Then under my feet, was a little lab mix trying to go to school. "Ember, you can't go to school with us!" I called out to her.

“I am so sorry,” we both looked at each other and didn't want make everyone late. The bus driver normally impatient and grouchy, was so touched by seeing my puppy. That she said, "I will wait go put the puppy in the house."

Then my sister and I ran up the hill, and put her in the house. Knowing that if Ember had an accident. I would have to clean it up when we got home.

As I made sure Ember was safely in the house. My sister looked to see how she got out. I heard her giggling girlishly.

“What?” I asked.

“I will tell you when we get on the bus.” She ushered me to move my little legs faster.

I nodded with a thank you to the bus driver for waiting.

As my sister informed me, "Ember squeezed herself out of the square wire." There is a larger hole where she bent the wires.

"How did she mange to get her booty through?" I asked puzzled.

"Dunno?" My sister shrugged."She is like the lamb in that Nursery Rhyme." As she connected the similarities of events earlier.

"Totally!" We quietly sang it to each other laughing all the way into the school parking lot.

Ember was with me through every high school and college breakup. She never left my side. She was not a fan of the leashes. I did not force her to be leash bound. As she would hyperactively walk along side me, everywhere I went.

Most dogs love to go for car rides. However, Ember would get carsick on the winding roads on our way to see my grandparents. Without fail, puke would cover the back seat. As she would lay on my lap nauseated.

My dad had a weak gag reflux; so I was in charge of cleaning out the car when we arrived. Ember was so happy to be on solid ground.

Most dogs loved to play fetch, shake, or roll over. Ember would look at the stick as the wood flew passed her. There the stick remained in the grass untouched. She did not enjoy her paws being touched either. The only time she roll over was to get her belly scratched. When it was her idea, and not commanded to do so.

On the phone a friend of mine could hear Ember in the background barking. "Isn't that your new puppy?" She talked over the barking.

"Yeah," I answered unsure at what exactly she was barking at? Her expecting roommate liked the name so much. She named her first daughter after my dog.

Flash forward to college, I went away to study at university and Ember stayed with my parents. She would excitedly wag her tail when I would call them on the weekends. "How is Ember holding up?"

"She is a great companion for me. While you guys are at school. She is always under my feet, like a foot stool." Mom always replied with that tid bit.

In the summer time, my sister had gotten married to her high school sweetheart. They decided to get a puppy together Machi. She was a blue healer mix. As I told Ember, "Its time for bed!" She went straight to her bed and who should be there but my sisters new puppy. Ember looked at me and I said, "If you want her to move, your going to have to tell her old lady." She huffed at me unamused. She decided much like the fetch to do nothing. As the medium size dog and a healer puppy slept huddled together on her dog bed.

The following summer,I found out I was expecting. That was when things had changed for Ember. She normally would sleep in bed next to me. But I didn't know how she would react to a newborn in bed with me. So for months I had put the dog bed at the foot of my bed.

With the exception of pregnancy naps. I let her lay with me then. As she laid on my baby bump my daughter began to kick. This startled Ember and she perked up her ears tilting her head back and forth. Then she looked back at me. “Ember there is a baby in there. I am going to need your help to watch out for her.” She then licked my belly and laid back down on my tummy. I knew somehow she understood me.

I had the worst morning sickness. My dog just laid on the linoleum floor, and let me use her as a pillow.

When my daughter was old enough to talk. I was hoping her first word would be mama. But nope! Her first word was Ember. Every time she heard her name. The lab inched up to her playfully wagging her tail. As my daughter would nuzzle into her side.

As my daughter grew, I would tell Ember, "Keep an eye on the little one" I would watch the two interact lovingly to another.

In 2018, Ember was older now. The thirteen year old lady was slowing down. I took her to the vet and he said she was spilling blood in her urine. A week before we were going to move. Ember never came inside. She was missing and as we searched every pound. She was no where to be found.

"Mom, where is Ember?" My daughter was confused as to where she had gone.

"She is missing baby..." I managed to say holding back the tears burning in my eyes.

The only thing I could think was, sometimes when dogs pass they look for a quiet place to do so.

I ,imagine she is unleashed running freely like a puppy across the rainbow bridge.

She will forever be missed!