We bought Sephi from a breeder in late summer 2003; she was born in July of that year. I wouldn't go to a breeder again, but I'm very glad that we had Sephi. We met her when she was just about six weeks old, and she and her brothers and sister had little yarn "collars" on to tell them apart. Sephi showed us her personality right away.
Sephi's mother was a yellow lab named Diva. When I met her she was with her puppies, and she looked very proud of herself. Sephi's father was a black lab named Maestro, and he was 110lbs and not fat (most of it was head). He would take a toy to the top of the stairs of his house and toss it down, then go fetch it.
We brought Sephi home in September. I was still working for White Wolf, so I was working from home and I had plenty of time to look after a puppy. Of course, Sephi was a handful - she was opinionated, stubborn, and prone to chewing on things (including the wall).
She discovered her love of water when still a pup. Throughout her life she liked to swim, and when summers got hot and she was a little bigger, we bought a kiddie pool and filled it with cold water so she could lay in it during the day.
Sephi grew quickly, as puppies are wont to do. We took her to obedience and agility classes, and it worked, for the most part. She was still stubborn, and she wasn't interested in coming in the house until she was good and ready, which got to be a problem when she got big enough to be faster than me.
She was also pretty sneaky when necessary. One of my favorite memories of Sephi was her snatching a burrito away from my then brother-in-law; he was sitting in a lawn chair and was gesticulating with it, and she saw her opportunity and took it.
Heather and I took Sephi to a lot of different places, but orchards were always fun. I wish I still had the picture of her as a tiny puppy carrying a pumpkin by the stem, defiantly. I do have this one, though:
Sephi was just over a year old when Kai was born, and we sat Sephi down and told her that we were going to have a tiny person around and she had to be gentle, even if said babby pulled her tail or grabbed her skin. Sephi was always great with kids. She wasn't ever mean or bitey; she'd give off a wuff at times, and when she was younger she'd jump up, but she was generally very friendly. She liked to be petted and brushed, and would often nudge your hand with her big ol' head if you stopped petting her.
When we brought Leo home, Sephi quickly established that she was in charge (despite Leo's occasional habit of humping her head), and the two of them were companions and friends throughout Leo's life. Sephi liked to fetch; Leo liked to run alongside.
By the time Michelle moved out here, Sephi was slowing down. She could run on a good day, but her hips were getting achey. She still liked to fetch, but she couldn't get to the frisbee faster than Leo (and, later, Si), and so I had to take her out on her own to play.
By the time Si got past his puppy-hood, Sephi was well and truly the elder statesdog. She wasn't always in great health (she had a lot of allergies and the medications took a toll), but, characteristically stubborn, she held on. The vet offices got to know her well, and she always perked up when I took her there. She liked people.
Over the last couple of months, she started to decline. She wasn't able to get across the living room or out to the yard without help, and some days she really couldn't walk. She lost a good 15 pounds, and she didn't always want to eat. A couple of days ago, she lost the ability to walk altogether - just couldn't put weight on her back legs. Yesterday morning, Michelle and I made the decision to put her to sleep.
We (Michelle, Kai, Cael, and I) went to the vet this afternoon and said goodbye. We petted Sephi, and she nudged our hands if we stopped, insistent and stubborn to the last.
Sephi was the first dog I cared for on my own. My family had dogs growing up, but the last one passed when I was very young and we always had cats after that. Sephi was a good and constant friend - not as affectionate as some dogs, but very loving all the same.
This morning I woke up and my first thought, as usual, was whether I should take Sephi out before I left for work, but then I realized it was no longer a concern. It's going to be some time before the reality of the situation sinks in - Persephone has gone from the Underworld to be with her mother.
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| Persephone, Dog of the Underworld, "Sephi" July 2003-April 2019 |
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