To know me is to know Olive. To know Olive is to know me. For the past thirteen years, we have been virtually inseparable. She has been the very best friend a guy could ever ask for. I don’t think a dog and her human have been so connected. From the first moment I met her, we were bonded.
I moved from Los Angeles to Omaha in 2009, and as soon as I arrived, I set about getting a puppy. I had this hole in my soul that only a four-legged fluffy friend could fill. In L.A., I’d spent months before the move looking at dogs at the humane society. At work one day, a co-worker of mine caught me looking at their website as she was walking by my desk. She looked at me and then up to the sky. She said, “ Lord, please get this boy a puppy.” Unknown to me at the time, but the gods had heard her prayer. Olive was being made.
I was back in Omaha for a few weeks when I came across an ad for Australian Shepherd puppies on a farm outside of Friend, Nebraska. A very fitting name. Their working dogs had a litter, and they had two left, one was black and white. She was perfect. I arrived at the farm the next day. I was led into the house by the owner. She reached down and grabbed the black and white puppy by the scruff of her neck and put her in my arms. She said, “Here, this is the one you said you’re interested in.” This cotton candy puff ball climbed up my chest and snuggled right into my neck. My heart melted. Almost in a whisper I replied back, “I’ll take her.” The bond was immediate. We had been made for each other.
At the time, I was working in landscaping, which was great because I was outside all the time. Olive started coming to work with me every day, and that’s pretty much how every day of our lives have been. A puppy and her human, inseparable. Enjoying adventures in nature.
It’s hard to describe to someone who has never had a puppy, but there’s something missing inside until they show up. Something that opened up my spirit, and helped me let others in. It took some time, but she eventually helped me land my wife, the love of my life, made possible with a little Olive magic.
When I met my wife, Andrea, I told her I was a “dog guy”. There’s a story about my great-uncle Wayne. He said the same thing to his wife when they first met. He told her he was a dog guy. So much so that on their honeymoon road trip, he detoured out of the way to buy a new puppy and bring it along. I guess it’s genetic. I come from a long line of these “dog guys”, but I might be the first one to tell their fiancé that the ring bearer was going to be a dog. This is when I knew was about to marry a “dog lady”, because Andrea set about hand making Olive a special pillow and harness to wear. Olive was there during the ceremony and all of our biggest life moments ever since.
Just before our wedding, when Olive was 3 years old, she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called masticatory myositis. She battled this disease for almost 10 years. Over two thirds of her life, she lived with this burden. The treatment for her was a low dose of steroids that she took throughout the week. Steroid medication does not come without side effects, especially over the long-term. Eventually, the steroids caused severe damage to her thyroid, which caused weight gain. She went on a thyroid replacement and kept on fighting. Over time, the steroids caused crippling damage to her joints. The long walks we’d enjoyed for years became shorter and shorter, slower and slower. All the while, she persisted. Never giving up. Always smiling, snuggling, and loving more and more.
A couple years ago, Olive started to have a hard time going down our hardwood stairs. When this happened, I began to carry her. When she wasn’t able to walk up the stairs anymore, I began carrying her up. A year ago, my wife, Andrea, and I decided that with her declining health, we should take some road trip vacations. I love the mountains, and hiking. So does, Olive, but her joints had prevented her from enjoying the paths like she used to. I wanted my best friend to come along with us, and through a little research, I found a company that makes hiking backpacks for dogs. Olive and I were able to hike again. With her on my back and fuzzy paws around my shoulders, we watched the sunset over the Grand Canyon. We hiked through Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, and to breathtaking waterfalls in the Ozark’s of Arkansas. Olive loved every moment of it all.
For our road trips, we also bought a collapsible wagon, which I promptly named, Olive’s Urban Assault Vehicle. Or, UAV, for short. In her UAV, we went whiskey tasting in Tennessee and Kentucky. We strode along the trails of Yellowstone National Park and down to the shores of the Atlantic in South Carolina. She travelled through the haunting streets of Savannah, and most recently, we hiked the buttes of Western Nebraska.
Olive has lived. She never gave up. Even during the last days of her life, she kept on fighting, and loving. She personified indomitable spirit. She has shown me the true definition of warrior. She was the toughest and most loving soul I have ever known. She opened my heart. She loved me unconditionally, and taught me its’ true meaning as well. She is the best friend I have ever known (sorry Andrea). All the time I had been carrying her, but it was her who was carrying me. When I was low, she lifted me up. She made me a better person. She taught me patience and what is to be sweet and loving. She forever changed me as a man. This little roly-poly fluff ball of love, took a pick axe to the hard shell around my heart and made me a soft mushy mess.
She and I are forever connected. We have exchanged pieces of our souls. Her spirit will live on in my heart and in the hearts of everyone she touched. She made this world a better place for everyone, because she made me a better person.
You cannot spell I LOVE without OLIVE.
To know me, is to know, Olive.