Maddie’s Meadows Pet of the Week

I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos over the years. This is Maddie and her best friend, Mr. Kitty. This was taken in April 2016. You wouldn’t normally think that a Chow Chow / Golden Retriever would be fond of cats, but Mr. Kitty loved her so much she could not resist him.  

Maddie treasured her personal space; her crate, but she would let him in; no one else, just him. She would retreat to her space and no one else dared to enter except Mr. Kitty.  He would follow her everywhere. This was two months before she crossed over to the other side and her faithful companion was right next to her, comforting her every inch of the way.

When I first started bringing cats home Maddie was not convinced I was doing the right thing, but being the perfect dog that she was she quickly acclimated herself to my way of thinking and did whatever she could to help. If two cats would face off, nose-to-nose with their tails twitching, she would get up and walk over and stick her great big Chow / Chow head right between them.  Both cats would realize this was not a battle they could win and just turned and walk away. Every once and a while it would require a single bark on her part, and that would be the end of it. It never required two barks.

When she started getting too old to climb the stairs to our apartment I would try and carry her up and down the stairs. At 60-lbs. it was too much for me and she struggled against me, which meant she didn’t trust me not to drop her; so the decision was made to make her as comfortable as possible downstairs with her feline friends and Mr. Kitty, whose super power was loving her, was on the job.

When I knew that her time was short we had a pajama party downstairs. I put couch cushions on the floor, and blankets, and I laid down with her and the other kitties crowded around, and Mr. Kitty laid down next to her also. She looked around as if to say what is going on, but then she just knew. We gave her our love, a final tribute to a remarkable and wonderful dog.  

With tears streaming down my face as I write this, missing her terribly, I pledge that we will meet again. I still love you Maddie, and after all of these years.