These columns are usually an opportunity for me to wax poetic, but who cares, I got a puppy!
I’ve written before about the loss of my dog, Izzy; the way their loss changes your whole life because a pet becomes your whole life, a member of your family.
A year has passed since we lost Izzy, and we never thought we’d have a dog again: the pain, the heartbreak, was too much.
But time heals, and also, there was a joy missing from our home. I love dogs, I love their energy, their happiness, the way they act like each day is a blessing. I need that in my life. And so, I would like to introduce you all to my new pup, Trudy Judy.
We rescued our 10-week-old black lab and great Pyrenees mix, and her name was Trudy. Being enormous fans of the show Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police procedural comedy, we decided to lean into it and name her after a favourite character; thus, Trudy Judy.
(To fans of the show: Her brother was also available, and we almost adopted Doug Judy, hoping to later add a cat named Mangy Carl.)
Most people look at us as if we are nuts, but fans of the show immediately laugh. If you’ve ever met me before, you know that thinking I’m a little off is pretty par for the course.
Her name is fun to yell, she is starting to come when called, and because the show is filled with word play, we get to enjoy it, too. Trudy Judy is built like a tank — so Trudy Judy has a big booty. Trudy Judy is a cutie-patootie, and also, we went outside and Trudy Judy did a giant … well, you get the picture.
Husband had to discipline her, and called her by her full name, apparently: “Trudith Judith.”
Other pet owners know that your pet never has just one name.
The Sudbury.com newsroom is full of pet-lovers, with a bunny, several cats, another puppy and the most perfect pug, Pugsley, rounding out our beloveds. Everyone asks me each day how life with Trudy Judy is, but I have a feeling that going on for half an hour will make that stop soon.
Now, having a puppy is no easy thing, but it is fun.
Trudy Judy is currently a card-carrying member of the “puppies eating faces party,” but I am hoping she will surrender her membership soon.
Trudy Judy thinks socks are the best thing ever, and does the funniest little run whenever she gets one. She also loves boots, but less so when she gets stuck head first in Husband’s, colloquially known in my house as his Jean-Guy Rubber Boots. However, when she fell out, she went right back again, so what are we to do, but laugh at her. Then correct her. Then laugh again.
Trudy Judy does not bear kennels, or collars, easily. (Insert Brooklyn Nine-Nine joke: She got out of prison for good behaviour. Trudy Judy is a beauty.)
But also, we haven’t laughed this much in so long, it feels so good. We are walking again, because walking your neighbourhood is boring unless you get to watch a pup explore it with their tail-wagging. Everything is an adventure, and we are thrilled to go along with her.
We are laughing, we are getting outside, and we are happy.
George Carlin has a quote about getting pets, one that has been in the back of my mind since we lost our Izzy last year. “Every pet is a tiny tragedy waiting to happen. You are investing in your own heartbreak.” This is true, and my heart is still broken over my Izzy. But every moment with Trudy Judy is reminding me of my time with Izzy, allowing my memories of her to be warm and positive rather than filled with loss.
And more than anything, an investment in later heartbreak is making the time in between much more bearable, it is helping us get through a pandemic, through a world that scares us more each day. It is an investment I am willing to make.
Because she is a cutie and a beauty, I will do my duty for Trudy Judy.
Jenny Lamothe is Sudbury.com’s Communities beat reporter, covering marginalized sectors of the city, including immigration issues, homelessness, the downtown core, and Indigenous storylines.
