RIP Mollie Vincent (1995-2008)

Today is a very sad day for the Vincent family. We've lost our sweet doggie, Mollie. Though I often referred to Mollie as my "step" dog, I loved her very much.

Mollie came to live with Damon not long after he moved to Nashville. A friend found her wandering around their neighborhood and knew she needed a good home. Damon accepted. They've been together ever since. Mollie's famous for her "circus" trick -- sitting on her rump with paws up in there and head/torso swaying back and forth -- we call it her circus trick. She was definately a one-trick puppy!

Although in some ways, Mollie's life was better before Riley and I (Damon actually cooked veggies for her every night), I think she found her best friends first in Riley than later Sophie. Although she continued to love Damon and I very much!

Of course, a couple of our all time favorite Mollie stories involve food. The first was when Susan and I baked Christmas treats all morning one holiday season. We left and went somewhere for a few hours. When we came home, many of the treats that had been on the dining room table were gone. Apparently Mollie, Riley and Zarah had climbed up on the table, snatched the goodies and then proceeded to hide them around the house. We were still finding cookies hidden in closets and such months later. The next incident was again during Christmas -- Mom had left the turkey carcas up on the countertop. We came home from our annual movie adventure to find the turkey spread all over the house and three very sick dogs. I don't know exactly how they communicate but Mollie and Riley have a way to "talk" and often got into mischief.

Mollie's life changed again in 2003 when we learned we were expecting Sophie. She was quite mad at first and spent most of my pregnancy getting into the trash. Then Sophie came home. We were initially worried about what the dogs would think of the baby, but Mollie loved her from the first instant. Since Sophie was able to get down and play with her, the two of them have been inseparable. In fact, Mollie won't sleep anywhere at night except in Sophie's room. No matter how much Sophie dressed her up or rolled around on the floor with her, Mollie was her willing companion.

Though we don't know her exact birthday, we think she was around 13 this year. In a good/bad kind of way, she left us fairly quickly. Although she was sick all last weekend, we really thought it was just a "bug." Little did we know that her kidneys had given up and the end was near. After a week of tests and heartbreak, Mollie's life ended today. She will be buried in our backyard in a special garden area we are creating. We will all miss her very much!