Felix is our September 30, 2018 Pup of the Week

I dreamed a dream last night.   We were all young and again. We had just discovered social media.  It was like finding a vast field of fresh snow ready for us to put our paws in it and leave our marks.   And we did, a generation of dogs creating their own world, celebrating walks and treats, suffering when friends became sick or needed operations.  We were dogs We were finally being heard. And we ruled the world.

Some dogs became silent as their parents drifted towards Facebook, and some others expanded on the idea, creating well-read and influential blogs.  The golden age of dog blogging may have passed, as so many of those original writers passed to the Bridge, but the blogs themselves remain as long as the Internet keeps us all connected.

I woke up with Felix, coauthor of the award-winning Kol’s Notes next to me.  We had not knocked paws. It was just a friendly snuggle with a scared, lonely dog who became overwhelmed when he faced the prospect of living in the immortal world and needed a friend.  While we dogs all get the choice to retrieve the parts we lost during our mortal life, including our naughty bits, none of us want those troublesome organs. When you get those things back and start using them, the next thing you know you’re testifying before Congress.

Felix and I became besties ten long years ago.  His mom was studying dog nutrition and became, and still is, our go-to person for all dog digestion questions.  One night I had something strange in my poop.  My parents broke it apart, took pictures of it, and sent it to Momma Jodi.  They studied the poop until it was determined I had eaten a wax earplug. Momma Jodi was there for my parents, as she was for so many others. She also helped my parents find the right food for Pocket’s sensitive stomach.

Momma Jodi would not have been there to help diagnose my poop, find Pocket food, or help so many other pet parents, through Facebook posts and her awesome blog without her two inspirations, Kolchak and Felix.  The love they gave her, their perpetually smiling faces, their exuberance for life, inspired a blog that made all our lives better, with helpful tips, recipes, and answers when we needed them.

I think Momma Jodi knows more about dogs than any other momma I know.  But no momma knows enough to keep her baby with her when his heartbeats began to expire.  Felix’s body did not break down all at once but in increments. Felix tore his ACL. Given his age, Momma Jodi did not want him to have surgery so she researched everything she could about torn ACL and soon Felix, with the aid of some back wheels, was happily living his life as he had before his injury.

No matter what obstacle was placed before Kolchak, Felix and their mom she found a way to adapt to it.  But when Felix ran out of heartbeats, all that is left is saying goodbye.

Felix reluctantly crossed the Bridge.  He was not just an enormous part of his mom’s heart, but also the reason Momma Jodi helped so many others.  Felix was worried about his parents, his brother Kolchack, and his friends. He felt like he had let everyone down.

The good thing about having helped so many dogs is that, when you need help, your friends pay it back tenfold, and Felix’s did.  By the next day, Felix was playing and laughing remembering all the good times, back when we were young, and our lives were ahead of us.  

We all took turns guiding Felix back into his mom’s life, in her dreams, as beautiful flying creatures, and ghosting.  We all wanted to do it to help our friend and to let his mom know how much she meant to us. She would not remember it in her mind but she would in her heart.  
And we wanted her to know that we will take of her special boy, who is now running through the fields and meadows, using all his legs and laughing all the way.
We need to keep inspiring Momma Jodi.  Our parents and the mortal dogs count on her too much.  


I  know nothing can replace Felix in Momma Jodi’s heart, but we hope Felix and hundreds of other angels praying for her and visiting her will help heal her heart.