Dulcinea Memorial

Memorial of Love

4 August at La Casa de La Claridad Increíble

Born 22 July, 2001, as Turbo Dot Net, this 53 pound, red female Greyhound came to conduct our lives in México when she was one year old. Extremely shy, she was a GALT Texas Rescue and stood out from the other dogs like a little jewel, because of her petite size and perfect conformation.

Dulcinea, a proper, new name for a life in México, was our little Princess for thirteen years. She ran the house, Rogers and the other three Greyhounds. She was a little minx. One of the first things she did as a puppy in her new home, was chew up my new, designer, red sandals, each carefully tucked into its own flannel bag for protection. A gift from a friend, I’d not even had a chance to wear them.

No box or bag entered the house without Dulci checking it out. She inspected every nook and cranny of the house and three levels of gardens. She was better than a cat for mice in the winter wood pile. A ride in the car was not for her. She loved home. She did tremble in the car for a walk on the lakeshore, which she loved, but was eager to rush home.

I would have to say here that the deepest and most profound love of her life was for her partner, Don Quijote/aka Don Juan. When he was dying, she stood over him, emitting the loudest, most mournful cry I have ever heard. I hope never to hear that sound again. It was bone chilling. How she loved the magnificent, track athlete, one year older than she, who became her life partner. We had flown them both down to México together and they were never separated again. It is almost impossible to speak of one without the other.

Dulci wouldn’t play. She wanted to and tried, but was hurt every time, because of her petite size, so she quickly learned to refuse the most wheedling importunities. She would run to the house and stay there no matter what. She had a “thing” about the house. After a full blown stroke in the arms of a vet while he was towelling her dry from a shampoo, he said that she should never leave the house again. It scared him half to death! Both Dulci and Don Quijote went a little crazy in the drying yard, he said (he doesn’t believe in cages) and he would come to them at our home when they needed care. Actually, this wasn’t necessary because our Girl Friday, Lourdes, stepped in and began shampooing the Greys regularly. We also had a vet come and clip their nails every two weeks.

As Dulci aged, she was only able to walk to the end of the block and back, but this made her very happy. There are so many things I could say about her. Her Christmas stocking, her walks along the lakeshore. She was demanding and impertinent, but we always did whatever she asked for.

Finally, after four days of seeing her suffering greatly with arthritis, on Tuesday, August 4, 2015, at 10:15 PM, fourteen years old, we, along with the vet, thought it was time for her to go. Even in her pain, she was a happy girl, but we were no longer able to see her suffering. We asked one of our veterinarians to come to our home and gently send her on her way to cross the Rainbow Bridge and be reunited with the love of her life, Don Quijote. We grieve for her.