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Shady

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This is going to be sad.

In July, our beautiful Shady passed away at home. It’s very difficult to think about, and I try not to.

Shady Closeup

The story of Shady joining our family is a big part of what defines our family. I wrote about it before. This, I think about all the time.

Shady Asleep on a Blanket

She always kept her skepticism of the world that she rightfully earned before us, but she also knew how to be silly, to run and play and jump on someone’s head, then run away. If dogs giggled, she would have had the best giggle of them all.

She also had the most amazing big eyes that could see right into you. When people wonder if dogs have a soul, those people have never met a dog like Shady.

But then, I have met a lot of dogs, and I’ve never met a dog just like Shady either. She was special in a way that is hard to describe. It’s more about the way she was than things she did, but she did sweet Permanent Puppy things all the time.

When Shady went for a walk, she would sniff and snort with an intensity that made her sound a bit like a pig, and we would call her Truffle.  She had a beagle’s nose and curiosity. She also had a beagle’s love for eating more than she should, and wandering, and chasing small things, and laying in the sun.

If you’re twenty pounds and a little scared of the world, you use what you have. She had a bark that could be heard for a mile, and she used it. No tolerance for funny business in our front yard. If you came in the house for a visit, she would bark, even if she knew you, but once you gave her a treat, suddenly you were Just Fine.

Shady Closeup

Shady the speed beagle! When she was younger, she would run around the backyard at top speed, darting left and right, but generally in a big circle. Then she would dive into the forest of ferns near the patio. The last thing you could see were her back feet, stretched way out as she disappeared. The tops of the ferns would shake violently, then stop for a moment. Then they’d start up again, but six feet away from the last place. After a while, a magnificent blur of brown and white would eject from the ferns, three feet in the air, with huge googly eyes. She would seem to hang in the air for a few seconds, but as soon as her feet hit the ground, she would take off in a random direction, running even faster than before.

Shady Snuggle

As she got older, she still did this from time to time, but she really came to appreciate just laying on someone. Usually Tess, the basenji mix whom Shady loved more than anything.

Shady and Tess

I have hundreds of photos over the years of the two of them just laying around on a couch, almost always touching. And often in these photos, Shady’s eyes are closed, asleep and at peace with a world that is still scary sometimes, but not so bad as long as we love each other and have each other’s back.

Here’s one of my last photos of Shady.

Shady and Tess Booty Up

I love this photo, and I love everything this dog brought to my life.

 

OS X Mirroring and External Displays

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I have a not-superfancy 21″ iMac at home. It’s got an old Dell 24″ DVI display attached with a Thunderbolt adapter. I’m generally a big fan of multiple displays on any computer I’m using, and this works out well when I want it, especially if I’m doing something with VMware Fusion that could use a full extra screen. But here’s the thing: In this particular setting, I don’t need or want the external display all the time. It’s connected via VGA to an old Mac mini that we occasionally use, which complicates things a bit more because of input switching. The display is from something like 2007, so it does nothing automatically.

No problem: If I don’t need it, I’ll just turn it off. However, the Thunderbolt adapter means that OS X always sees the display as present, even if it’s powered off. I find this annoying, especially when I launch an application that remembers it has windows on the external display. I have to turn the display on, make sure it’s on the DVI input, blah blah, just to move the window. It’s a small thing, but the grumpy accumulates.

Today, the obvious solution finally occurred to me: Just turn on display mirroring when the external display is unwanted. Command-F1, or Command-fn-F1 if you have media keys disabled.

This gathers everything to the internal iMac display and means OS X (and I) can just ignore the second display. Easy.

Pearl

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This is going to be sad.

Pearl has been gone for two months, just before her thirteenth birthday.

I’ve been putting off writing about this because it hurts, and because it feels like it just happened. When I get up in the middle of the night, like I did an hour ago, I’m still taking care not to step on her in the dark, even though she’s not there. This house is unbelievably quiet, and I miss her terribly.

Pearl ran this place, even when her arthritis and hearing loss meant she stopped meeting us at the door. She pawed at the refrigerator and stared a hole in me as a reminder that I hadn’t given her an after-breakfast treat. Pearl loved her leather couch, and chest divot rubs, and licking chins. She had a switchblade back right leg.

She wanted to know where everyone was, including the little dogs whom she tolerated but secretly loved. When she couldn’t make it out to the yard, she watched us from the patio, or from a patch of cool grass. Pearl was 100% Momma Dog.

She snorted and snored and farted and panted all the time, and as the invisible tumor made it hard for her to breathe, she only got louder. This is why our house is so quiet now, and I remember that the quiet is actually a good thing.

Before her last trip to the vet, Simon gave her a hug and a kiss and said “Bye, Pearl!” And at the vet, I rubbed her ears and held her head for her last breath and said the same thing.

My mother told me that when I was going through a rough time, she knew that Pearl was taking care of me. This is absolutely true, and a wonderful tribute to a truly unique soul.

“Why do I call you Peach? Because you’re round and fuzzy on the outside and sweet on the inside!”

Maggie

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This is going to be sad.

Maggie is gone.

She had been sick for the last several months with nearly every horrible thing that can happen to a Boxer dog, and finally it just became too much. We took her to the emergency vet on Sunday and she didn’t come home. She’s better off, the pain is gone, she has found peace, and so on. All the standard things people always say absolutely apply here, and as usual, none of them help very much.

Maggie knew how to press the top of her head right into my chest when I needed it. Maggie smelled like maple syrup. Maggie loved having her belly rubbed, and cheese, and her big pillow on the couch. Maggie hated thunderstorms and wanted to hide under my office desk until they were over. Maggie limped out on arthritic hips and a bum leg to hop around in the yard under the giant oak tree with me because no matter how old she got or how much it hurt, she was still a puppy on the inside and she wanted to play.

Maggie was the first dog to notice Simon in his crib as we brought him home, and I will never forget the amazing look on her face when she saw him.

For eleven years, this beautiful, soulful dog loved me and I loved her. I have a 77 pound hole in my chest, and it hurts. I hope it always does a little bit; in that way, she’s still here.

Simon

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Our son was born three weeks ago.

Simon James McMurry was born Tuesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:11am. Eight pounds, three ounces, 20 inches.  Lots of hair, dark eyes, chubby cheeks, ten fingers, ten toes.

Simon gives a meaningful stare from his hospital bassinet (2010 Dec 22)

Simon is beautiful and funny and I love him more than I ever dreamed I could.

Since he’s been home, the three of us have gotten to know each other in a hundred different ways. Molly and I are doing great with him so far, but I think that’s mostly because he’s a really great baby. “Team Simon,” we remind each other when adult fussiness is about to flare up.

Simon sees the toy giraffes in his Pack 'n Play (2011 Jan 02)

I am Simon’s full time PR agent. Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, email, etc. There are lots of family and friends to keep in the loop. It’s been fun, but there’s a limit. I’m not interested in sharing minute details of his life to the public at large, but I suspect he’ll show up here quite a bit.

Simon enjoys a peaceful lunch (2011 Jan 11)