The Life of Cleopatra

I still remember the evening we got Cleopatra.  It was snowing and

we had to drive to Ozark, Missouri.  Someone had found a basset hound

and it needed a home.  We had been dog-less for about a year or so after having

to put our old basset hound, Geairmo, down and we didn’t think we

were ready to have another dog yet. 

Kenny had talked to a friend of his and he

said he would take her if we would go pick her up, she was going to be a

farm dog.

We pulled up to the house and out came this little otter of a dog, small and skinny

and full of wiggle.  As soon as Kenny put her in the truck with us, I knew that she

was more than just a “farm dog”…..she was a little princess and she was

coming home with us.

She didn’t take to riding in the truck very well, she cried and barked and wanted nothing

to do with it.

But what do you name a princess or better yet, a queen?

We had been going to Las Vegas most summers and staying at Caesars Palace, Kenny came up with Cleopatra…..

it seemed to fit.

As I said, we had another basset hound before, but Cleopatra was

different…..she was smart as a whip!  She loved balls and would

chase balls for you back and forth…she gave them up readily

so you could throw them for her again.

With some practice she learned to sit, shake, lie down, lie “way down”,

which meant lying down and putting her head on the ground,

she even learned to roll over….she was smart!

It wasn’t long before we realized that if we called her “Cleo”, she didn’t

respond…..she was definitely “Cleopatra”!

Well, Cleopatra was perhaps a little too smart…..when we left

her home alone she ended up getting into some sort of mischief…..

I remember coming home from work one day and finding tomato starts that

she had drug out of the sunroom and into the (at that time) carpeted living

room….dirt strung everywhere.

She needed something to keep  her occupied, perhaps another dog.

That is when we got Big Truvy to keep Cleopatra company.

Cleopatra excelled at being a great mother figure to

Big Truvy, she was kind and playful with her and I think

this “mothering” kept her out of a lot of mischief that she

would have been into otherwise during the day.

She mothered Big Truvy right up until the end when Truvy

got sick…..I still remember Cleopatra taking a candy corn

that we had given her and her taking it in her mouth

over to Big Truvy and dropping it in front of her because

she didn’t feel like getting up….she was definitely

one special dog.

She didn’t mind dressing up, as long as you would

praise her and tell her how cute she looked.

She was darling as a ballerina…..

and as a sunflower….

Her aunt Donna knitted her a little pink jacket and she thought

she was the bombe in it….

Then someone started laughing at her and saying

she looked like a little pig…..that hurt her feelings

and she went and got on the couch and sulked for

the rest of the night.

Cleopatra also had an affinity for ditches….it didn’t

matter how big or how small the ditch was….she wanted down

in it!

She was also quite the hunter….she was a girly dog, but

she didn’t mind getting down and dirty if there was

something to be hunted….here she’s after something

living under the back deck….

 

Cleopatra missed Big Truvy after she was gone, so she

started going on walks and play dates with Lily and Belle,

my friend Patti’s dogs…..

I remember how Belle loved to chew on Cleopatra’s

ears and Cleopatra really didn’t seem to mind.

The one thing Cleopatra didn’t like were the stairs in

Patti’s house…..well, she didn’t mind going UP, but she

had to be carried DOWN!

Lily and Belle made great playmates for Cleopatra, but

she still didn’t like being home alone all day while

we were at work…..eventually we brought home Lonnie.

Lonnie needed someone to show him the ropes of life

and Cleopatra was more than happy to oblige….even though

he was bigger than she was (she could walk underneath him),

she was the boss!

On Monday morning we were fortunate enough to be at home when

Cleopatra passed from this earth.

She hadn’t been eating, but on Sunday  she started eating again

and even went for a walk in the park and chased a rabbit.

I suppose that was her gift to all of us, to see her looking happy

for that one last day.

Of course that is how Cleopatra always was and always will be in our

hearts….a sweet, happy girl.

We miss you Cleopatra….