It made me remember how much I missed my dog Wakefield who we put down a month ago.
I’ve been meaning to write this blog since then but honestly didn’t have the strength.
I’m tearing up just writing this.
He was a really great dog.
I found Wake on Petfinder.
He was a puppy rescued from an Amish puppy mill (Damn you Jeff Nadu!)
and was only 8 weeks old.
The place that rescued him was called Lilac Groves Pampered Pups in Rye, New Hampshire.
That’s a godawful name but they did great work rescuing dogs from all over the country.
I went to her house and she brought me over to meet Wakefield and his brother.
His brother had two different color eyes which was cool (Although Max Scherzer never even crossed my mind.
He only had 6 career wins at the time) but was also very needy.
Instead, I stuck with the unnamed dog I had gone there to see in the first place.
He wasn’t needy or jealous at all but still seemed like a great puppy.
Wake was instantly my guy.
He grew to be 30 pounds and was a Pomeranian Husky.
But he was the perfect size.
He was also so well-behaved.
He didn’t bark at all until he started losing his hearing a couple years ago.
He was with me through a break-up, a marriage, a divorce and ANOTHER marriage.
He climbed NH mountains and survived Hurricane Sandy.
He’s been in the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Winnipesaukee.
He even took a shit on the lawn of the United Nations.
I felt so low and like such a failure.
It was Wakefield who kept my spirits up enough to make that trip.
He loved saying hello to people but hated saying goodbye.
He was extra gentle with my grandparents and was there to comfort me when they passed away.
I felt awful about myself.
I had to start all over and I really wondered if I could or what the point even was.
As I mentioned, we had to put Wakefield down last month.
I’m so blessed with all the good fortune that has happened to me over the past few years.
I have an impossibly kind and supportive wife.
I literally have a dream job.
I was talking to Steven Cheah yesterday at the combine and we were in disbelief this was our job.
I am so happy that I get to work with so many brilliant and talented people every day.
Look how kind Wake was to Melfi when she was a pup.
But you know what?
The apartment still feels so empty because my guy Wakefield isn’t here.
It feels like something is missing…because it is.
I miss his little face, his excitement when I came home and watching movies with him.
I even miss his awful breath.
He was 14 1/2 years old.
It was clearly his time.
It was a peaceful end for a dog who deserved nothing less.
But like him, I wasn’t.
I’m still not.
I know having a dog is nothing like having a kid and I hate when people make that comparison.
It’s unfair to dogs.
They aren’t people.
But that’s not the point.
Dogs don’t judge you and love you unconditionally.
They are happy when you get home and want you to be happy when you are sad.
They love us and all they ask in return is that we take care of them.
It’s a pretty great fucking trade.
Dave got Miss Peaches a couple weeks after we said goodbye to Wakefield.
That’s the thing about dogs and grief in general.
I was so happy that we added merchandise to help dog rescue organizations.
I am so lucky to have such a gentle soul be my dog for 14 years.
He was a great dog and an even better friend.
RIP Wakefield (5/28/09-1/27/24)
