I was thinking about my eldest daughter’s college buddies when I was wiping down the legs of my kitchen stools today.
I remember meeting Nikki and Mikey for the first time when they were freshmen or sophomores and Aly brought them home to celebrate Easter with us. That was 10 years ago. It was also the first time I met our blue heeler mix, Milli — short for Milligan University, where they were all students living in the college dorms. Except Milli, who WAS NOT a student, but WAS living the good life as a tiny “rescue” puppy in the aforementioned dormitory.
In her early months of life, Milli lived life quietly in the dorms — secretly and routinely being carried outside in a book bag so she could go for walks, run around and pee. When Milli’s roommates left for their classes, they’d leave the television on so the dorm R.A. wouldn’t hear her if she whimpered or barked — she rarely did either.
Somehow Aly’s father found out that his first-born daughter was harboring a canine fugitive in her dorm room and suggested strongly, “Alex, get that dog out of your dorm before you get kicked out of school!”
The next long weekend was Easter and that’s how we were first introduced to Milli and her other two caretakers, Nikki and Mikey. All three have now graduated. Aly is working in Cincinnati setting up public events, one of which ironically happened to be a dog adoption in a local park. Nikki and Mikey are both working as nurses and Mikey just earned his doctor of nursing practice degree.
Milli stayed back with us. And now ten years later, she is a constant companion following me from garden to garden or when inside, office to living room. We have even started waking up simultaneously at 2 a.m. to relieve our bladders — I let her outside while I head to the restroom and then we head back to the bedroom, where she had a little cushion bed on the floor.
Except lately, she occasionally has gotten up without me and confused our barstools as a fire hydrant — hence, why I was thinking of Aly, Nikki and Mikey when I was wiping down and sanitizing the barstool legs.
As I mopped the floor, I couldn’t help recall how all three young, exuberant students promised that Easter weekend to share the responsibility or having “joint-custody” of Milli — but would temporarily keep her with us. Steve and I knew at that moment we were adopting another dog.
Milli remains a good and faithful family member. Sans the recent peeing on the barstool.
