Tonight I had to say 'Goodbye' to Raven, my 11 1/2 yr old lab. Raven came to be part of my family it feels like a lifetime ago..I was working at Barnacle Bills (pet store) in Pullman..I was a newlywed and starting my 3rd year of vet school. It was Fall of 1998 and a customer brought her in to the store claiming she rescued her from a neighbor in her trailer park who was leaving her outside in the cold and starving her.. She knew that I liked Labs (I had two already) so she asked if I would take her.. Well Raven was an adorable puppy so of course I said "Sure!".. I really didn't PLAN to keep her, though.. I thought she would make a good dog for my parents since our family dogs (Rags and Lulu) had both recently passed away.. (I couldn't imagine that they might be enjoying their state of dog-less-ness). I brought Raven home (much to my then-husbands dismay), offered her food and let her eat until her stomach was huge and hard as a rock! (in hind-sight that was not the smartest idea.. I know better now!) That first night home I tried to make her sleep in a crate..But she cried and cried and I caved in and soon she was sleeping in our bed! (again, not winning points with the husband).. When she got too big for the bed I let her sleep on a dog bed next to our bed, I never tried to make her sleep in the crate again...My plan to give her to my parents was forgotten as I became more and more attached to my 'baby'...Some of my more vivid memories of her as a puppy involve her chewing up numerous pairs of expensive leather shoes belonging to Steve (yet another reason he was not a fan).. I remember suggesting that he pick his shoes up off the floor.. And he said "Why can't we teach the dog not to eat the shoes??" I replied "Because it's easier to teach you to pick up the shoes".. I did not take Raven out in public in Pullman for the longest time for fear that I might run into her prior owners and they would accuse me of stealing her and demand her back!
Raven also happened to be the first dog I ever did a live surgery on- The dog I was assigned to spay in our Junior Surgery Lab turned out to be already spayed so I had to schedule a make-up lab. Since they didn't know when they would be able to get another victim (I mean PATIENT) for me I asked if I could spay my own dog. I got permission and then I was started to get nervous. It is scary enough to anticipate performing your first major surgery, then when it is on your own baby..I mean PUPPY...it is even more frightening. I was doing alright until it was getting time to close...Suddenly the instructor said "You look kind of pale. Maybe you should scrub out." Well I definitely felt very hot under all the surgery garb and lighting...I don't know if I would have fainted or not, but I did let my friend Roger finish up for me.
Raven may have started off the baby of our dog family (Chet, Rocky and Raven)..but soon she grew to be the biggest and decided she wanted to be the Alpha female of the pack. Chet was a mellow dude, he didn't put up a fight. Rocky try to fight it, but she lost. And so Raven became Alpha. She got respect. She was always considered the good dog (Rocky was always the bad one).. She didn't trust people wearing hats (especially cowboy hats).. She was a good watchdog. She never pulled on the leash. She didn't countersurf. Before her hips went bad she always laid flat on her belly with her hind legs frog-legged..Whenever I asked her to give me a kiss, she would do it relunctantly, while softly growling (she wasn't much for kissing!)..If you tried to make her do something she didn't want to do, she would drop to the floor and roll on her back. It looked innocent enough ("Bellyrub anyone?") but in reality she was saying "I DARE you to try to move me"..
She enjoyed going to the beach but wasn't much of a swimmer.
Raven was never sick. She was healthy until she was diagnosed with Lymphosarcoma in September. Chemotherapy helped us get 100+ more days together... Raven was my friend and companion offering unconditional love through vet school, my marriage, my baby, my divorce and the first decade of my career.. I will cherish all those memories..She will be missed.
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