This is Peanut Butter Brickle. We all miss Digby. Especially me. The only ones who don’t express their sadness is our next door campers at dinner time. Disturbing the peace was Digby’s specialty without leaving a piece of food. He was so talented in that way.
But little pieces of every day life keep reminding me that Digby left his mark not only one tree in all of the lower 48 states, but he left his mark on a fox. A toy fox at Gandma’s house that she gave us back the other day.
You may not realize that Digby didn’t particularly care about toys or stuffed animals. It wasn’t until he got older that his obsession with stealing leather gloves started.
But at Gandma’s house, he got to act differently. He got to be a puppy again. And since he was a foxhound, well, he decided one day to tear up a fox. Don’t panic. It was just a toy. He only took a little bite. He only took a little piece.
You know, Digby was full of surprises. Always. When he was younger and we had chickens in our family, at first, he wanted to eat them. But I taught him that even though he had been a hunting dog, he didn’t need to eat the chickens. The chickens were a part of our family just like we were brothers. And I have to tell you, it didn’t take long at all for him to accept that.
Are you expected to act a certain way because of the way you were raised? Were you taught to disrespect someone?
Can you change that now? It’s never too late to change.
It’s crazy that even a fox with a hole out of it can make me cry lately. It’s so so hard. So hard. But I also smile when I think about Digby and all he overcame. And all the ways he changed.
I think the toy fox actually misses Digby. I see it in the eyes he left alone. I see how his old habits might have come back, but he realized the toy fox would be a better friend in one piece.
If a fox can miss a hound, and a friendship can be made, we all can be better. Live Like Digby. Love Like Digby.
–Peanut Butter Brickle
So many fond memories! xxx