This is Girl Person. And there are so many things that I could say today about Peanut Butter Brickle. But you know what? I think the deepest loves of our lives cannot be put into words. Why? Because there are no words to explain the magic of them. There are no words that would express the pain of missing them.

But words are what I do, and what I have always done. Especially when it comes to my dogs. I don’t know if there have been any other dog blogs written every day for almost two decades now. But it’s never been just about my dogs. It’s been about your dogs too. All the dogs.

All the dogs that have lived centuries ago, now and in the future. Dogs that deserved to have a voice but didn’t. Dogs that needed to be acknowledged and respected and loved. Some got that love like Brickle. And Brickle and Digby and now Fruitycake now fight for the dogs that all deserve love. In their own special way. And wow. Brickle was and IS special. And today marks one year without him on this earth.

In 2009, a beautiful soul came into this world. A beautiful person and individual in the form of a dog. A beautiful, striking, brindle dog that was meant to be larger than life itself. A dog we named Peanut Butter Brickle. Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle.

When we adopted Ernie (his name at the shelter), I’ll never forget those first few nights and weeks! Beds chewed up. Wood bed frames eaten. Shoes destroyed. We even had to make a sign that said “don’t leave shoes unattended”.

Looking back at those times, I can’t believe he acted like that. He was so serious, insightful and observant. It makes me happy he was a puppy at one time.

But one thing never changed. His attitude.  Shortly after we adopted Brickle, we had to go to an out of town wedding already planned. My mom and dad were tasked with watching Brickle and we thought a dog crate would be the answer. The first phone call from my dad was a story of terror. “I don’t know about that dog”, he said. It was not the last time I would hear that. Brickle would try to scare anyone and everyone that he met. Scaring others was a joy of his, and he sure did a good job. My dad decided that leaving him out of the crate was a better idea than trying to put him back in. We never used a crate again. 

Before Brickle, all of our dogs had been ones that just showed up. Discarded dogs or strays, dogs left at our door, you get the picture. Brickle was the first dog we intentionally adopted. And a dog that forever changed our lives, and maybe your lives too.

Today, when words fail me, I will say this. I believe that Brickle guided me to what I was meant to do. I believe that Brickle was more than my dog, but your dog too. I believe that all of us are meant to be here, in this lifetime, on this planet for a reason. Are you recognizing yours? Maybe you should listen to your dog. If you dare.

Because it’s no denying when you love someone like I loved Brickle and Digby too, that love will turn into grief when they are not here. I dreaded it and yet, it was much different than I imagined. I had a hard time believing in myself after Brickle. It took me almost a full year to get back on the track be blazed. And I won’t let him down now.

Rachael, Girl Person

A proud rescue dog who sacrificed it all and we continue, and always will continue to make a difference for animals and people. In honor of Brickle, we have a special link to show your support for our sanctuary and worldwide animal rescue network for social media! Thank you https://tinyurl.com/Brickle2TD