Sweet Maxers

We wanted a dog so badly. I'm sure Rachel, Andrew and I bugged our parents about it incessantly. But it just didn't make sense--where we lived, the kind of work we did, how much traveling it required. So imagine our surprise when my parents came home one afternoon and my dad had a tiny puppy tucked inside his jacket! This was Max--by far the coolest toy poodle ever, and the much-loved Katseanes family dog for years to come.

Max didn't realize, or refused to accept, that he was wee--he thought he was as big as any other dog, and wanted to be treated as such. When we could, we kept his hair long so that he looked more like a miniature sheep dog than a poodle, and it also made him look bigger than he was--both of which helped to boost his puppy self image. He was never yappy, he was always cuddly. Max never failed to be endlessly excited to see you--you'd come home, and he'd be absolutely beside himself, so glad to see you, so glad you were there.

He loved food (which I can appreciate). He loved to play, always ready with one of his "babies" to play fetch and pull. He loved to have his belly rubbed. His spot was next to my dad in the recliner while watching TV, or curled up right next to (or on top of) my mom's legs in bed to sleep.

Max died yesterday, and we're all still crying. He was such a good dog. How sad it will be to come home, and not have him there, so excited to see us, jumping and running around, waiting to be picked up and rubbed.

Sweet Maxers--we love you and will miss you! As Rachie said--all dogs go to heaven...