Rest in Peace, Javier
by Daniel Menjívar • #dogsWhen Javier joined our family in 2008, our two dogs, Lorenzo and Cachita wouldn’t let him near me. Especially Lorenzo; he made sure everyone knew that I belonged to him. But Javier was such a happy-go-lucky, easy-going dog that he was just glad to be a part of our pack. He never wanted to be the alpha dog; his job was to be the cute baby. Naturally, Javier got very attached to his mommy, my wife Michelle, and quickly became her dog.
I would call him Mr. Mister or more recently, “little itty-bitty,” but Michelle always called him “my little munchkin;” we would say he was “mommy size.” Looking back at the many photos we have of Javier, we noticed just how often he was by Michelle’s side. He’d wait for her to return from work every day because that’s when his day really started. The fact that he remained a puppy until the very last day made it really hard to accept that it was finally time to put him down.
At bedtime, Michelle and Javier used to fight over a squishy pillow, but in his last moments, he got the pillow all to himself, surrounded by me, Miguel Ángel, and most important to him, his mommy, Michelle. Now that he’s gone, I miss his thunderous snoring that would wake me up in the middle of the night.
Javier was with us for over fifteen years, much longer than the typical ten to twelve years life expectancy for a Yorkie-Bichon mix. Though he was constantly plagued with health issues and food allergies, he most definitely lived a complete life full of happiness, naughtiness and zero regrets. He filled our home with joy, unconditional love and abundant laughter. We loved him very, very much and are extremely sad that his time with us has come to an end. We take comfort in knowing that he can now rest in peace while filling heaven with boisterous laughter and eating all the deliciousness he can dream of.