Cammi

Things have been a bit subdued around here lately. A few nights ago Cammi (our, well technically Simon's, long haired dachshund - something of a Hairy Von Krumm) decided to go off and play with the traffic. She lost.

She's been buried down at the bottom of the garden, by the creek. I still can't quite bring myself to go and see - it was all done before I'd got up that morning so at least for me my last memory of her is as she usually looked, not the mess she apparently was. I do need to go and say 'goodbye' properly though.

For a dog who used to infuriate me on a regular basis I miss her heaps - and usually when she's not there to fall over! I still check the floor outside the bathroom door when I come out of the shower to make sure I don't trip over her, I check the floor under my desk before I move my feet or wheel the chair over, I glance down before moving in the kitchen, I still tiptoe back into my room at night if I've been up so I don't start her off whining outside my window wanting to come in. I still expect the deck doors to rattle and bang when I come home as she tries to hurl herself through the glass to say hello.

We'll have to clean up food spilt on the floor, no longer need to guard any food left on the table, the compost heap might actually fill up a bit quicker now the 'best bits' of kitchen scraps won't get grazed off the top. There are even enough empty chairs to sit on in front of the tv and the rug might finally stay looking clean for more than half an hour after being hoovered (and no-one tries to attack the vacuum cleaner as you use it!). The strawberries, grapes and peas will be able to grow in peace, we could even try melons again. Oh and I'll have to think of something to do with cherimoyas next season...

Poor Sirius (my cat) is most discombobulated, her bowl is now on the laundry floor not up on the washing machine as no-one else will steal her food now. She keeps checking chairs to see if Cammi is there. She looks very suspiciously at the deck where the kennel used to be. They'd become such good friends, we'd often come home to find them together on the deck waiting by the doors even though Sirius could get in through my bedroom window. They'd chase each other around the garden as if possessed and roll about on the gravel driveway - when Sirius had had enough she'd climb up the nearest post in the vineyard leaving Cammi stuck on the ground below.

Trips to the beach will no longer be quite the same, we'll be able to get a towel out of the cupboard without her going crazy hoping we're off for a swim. The sand in cars quota will drop and there will be one less joining us for Meeting when it's here.

She was a small dog with a big presence and I'm only now really appreciating how big. Daft mutt. I loved her though.