meet piper...

Piper and Lulu's ashes :(The day Lulu died was one of the hardest days of my life (9/8/2014). Rolling over in my soft, comfy bed, only to find her cold, stiff, lifeless body next to me is a devasting moment I will never forget. All of a sudden she was gone. Losing a pet is cruel and unusual punishment no matter how it happens. I've been on both sides (putting a dog down and sudden loss) and I can honestly say they both suck, but in this moment this sucked WAY more. 

After a couple days locked in my apartment crying uncontrollably, my tears finally subsided long enough for me to have the irrational, unstable idea to go to the dog park. WTF was I thinking. I think I was definitely drunk, and to a drunk person, this idea makes perfect sense. I poured myself another very tall, stiff martini and made my way to the park. No dog, just a large cocktail. I seriously needed an intervention. At least I wasn't dragging an empty leash behind me. I sat alone on the park bench sobbing for at least an hour as I watched the dogs play. Somehow our regular friends weren't there (thank God), so at least I didn't have to talk to anyone. Btw: despite what people may say, drinking does help. 

Maybe it was the alcohol or the fresh air or watching all the dogs play, but I felt inspired to finally announce her passing on FB (now that's a weird thing to say). I spent hours upon hours going through back up hard drives, an old computer, this blog, compiling all of our best Diana and Lulu moments (this blog is basically a tribute to her). I cried, I laughed, I cried, I laughed, made another cocktail, cried some more, laughed some more. It was an extremely cathartic process to go through all of the photos and remember all the happy times we had togehter – there were so many. She came to me days before my divorce was final in 2005 and let me tell you, the best way to get through a divorce is to be given a puppy. We spent the next five years living in New York City together before embarking on our cross country sabbatical. We lived in LA at Penny Marshall's house while I got certified as a yoga instructor, then we made our way down to Laguna Beach together. Lulu was such an awesome, devoted best friend. 

With all that said, I think you can deduce that I'm pretty needy in the dog department. A few days after her announcement, I found myself wide awake at 4am looking up puppies on adoptapet.org. 3 things: 1) don't judge 2) no dog could ever replace Lulu 3) don't look up puppies while you're still grieving.  

And then this happened. Look at this insanely cute little face (first pic on left). I've definitely lost my mind at this point, but you have to admit she's crazy cute. I took one look at this picture and I couldn't stop thinking about her. I let a couple days pass and still couldn't stop. I emailed the shelter and the rest is history. This little peanut was found on the street at 5 weeks old with her brothers and sisters. Her mom was no where to be found. I had to have her. She was 3 lbs, 8 weeks old, living in a shelter in LA when I adopted her. Hands down the most destructive little animal I've ever owned. I am certain Lulu was very happy I saved her life, but also laughing uncontrollably at the irony,... Lulu was so laid back and chill.