Chloe

I always told Chloe that I would spend the rest of her life making up for her first year. She was meant to be a breeding dog at a puppy mill and was locked in a cage until the wonderful people at Ridgeback Rescue got her out and started her on a new path. Chloe was 16 months when I adopted her, and she was a nervous wreck. She paced all the time, panted and flinched, and always had a worried expression. My other Ridgeback, Scout, was an excellent mentor to her, helping to build her confidence and teaching her how to play. Both dogs were wonderful companions to me through the years I lived in Chicago; we loved to spend Fridays at the dog beach, they often came to church and on trips with me, and they always made me feel safe and secure. Gradually Chloe’s true personality emerged, which was a joy to see. The dogs and I moved to Minnesota in October 2007 to be with my now-husband, Tomkin, and Scout died unexpectedly just a few months later. Then Chloe got ALL the attention, which she loved. We took her to the dog park, played “the Chloe game” to work off her excess energy, gave her lots of treats (she LOVED food), and assigned her various jobs (like lying on the couch to keep Daddy’s feet warm). She was always patient with other dogs, though she didn’t like puppies–they always wanted to bite her ears. For her 9th birthday, we threw her a party in a friend’s backyard, complete with cake for the dogs, a pinata filled with dog treats, and doggy bags for all her canine guests. Even people who usually felt apprehensive about dogs were calmed in Chloe’s presence. She was a joy to be around, and a remarkably easy dog to care for. Then last summer she got a terrible ear infection that turned into a yeast infection. We got her through one more birthday, Christmas, and New Year, but then we knew it was time to say good-bye to the girl we loved so much. Our house feels quieter without her, and there are still many times that I’m surprised or sad not to see her sweet face. I hope that Chloe and Scout are romping together again on a big dog beach in the sky. We love and miss them both.

Julie (and Tomkin) Coleman