Olive Belge 1/20/2009-1/24/2022

Monday I said goodbye to my very best friend.  Olive was born on Barack Obama’s first inauguration day. At that time, we were filled with so much hope for a more peaceful and just world. I wanted her name to reflect that. I chose Olive—a symbol of peace, the olive branch.

It was a great gesture, but Olive wasn’t the easiest or most peaceful dog.  She didn’t like small children or most other dogs. I spent a lot of my life ensuring that everyone stayed safe. Little children always wanted to run up to the cute “husky dog!” and if I had a dollar for every time someone yelled out “He’s friendly!” as their dog came bouncing up to my snarly girl, I could have invested it in all the extra reactive dog training we went through.

Once she got to know you though, she was very sweet. She loved her people. She didn’t like to be left alone. When I went to work, she would go upstairs and howl and howl out the window. I’d leave her in the van to go take a shower and come back to her on the passenger seat, howling away. She’d get upset and get into the garbage. If you left a loaf of bread or stick of butter on the counter, she would have that prize in her jaws the minute you walked out the door. She loved cookies and squeaky toys and could empty a kong in ten seconds flat.

She was my adventure companion. She loved to dig in the sand and wade in the water, but I don’t think she ever swam. We hiked and traveled near and far. I always felt safe, because she did not let anyone mess with me. I went places and did things I never would have done because of her. She led me to so much beauty.

I totally set up my life around Olive. She was my companion. She got me through my divorce, the death of both my parents, career ups and downs and who knows how many little heart breaks.  She was kind of a serious dog, but when she let loose and ran around with glee, my heart would just open wide up. Last night in a meditation, she came to me, gave me a play bow and tore around in the sand at a beach we liked to go to. I smiled so wide. I could see she was free again.

When I had my bad car accident a few years ago and I couldn’t do much, we would just go find peaceful rivers to sit next to and stay there for hours. The past few days were like that. I sat with her in the backyard in the sun and watched her and the birds in my feeders. It was so peaceful to just be. She taught me that.

She was ready to go. When the vet came to help her pass, Olive greeted her, then laid down on her blanket so she could help her cross over. I am heartbroken. But heartbreak is the price we pay for a love so deep. Run on, baby girl. My love for you will never end.