Bonnie

I first met Bonnie when Harlow was just a puppy. Bonnie was the mother of my dog walker, Amanda, a skilled vet tech with a healthy amount of clients. So, Bonnie stepped in and became Harlow’s walker.

Harlow was a wild puppy, and Bonnie’s patience with her was endless. I remember making a video for Bonnie on how to unlock and lock a carabiner so she could get Harlow out of her crate for walks (Harlow figured out how to open her crate and spread destruction on the house in my absense, thus the carabiner)! Bonnie would occasionally sit for Harlow for me when I went out of town, and I was grateful that Harlow was with someone she loved.

Bonnie felt a special bond with Harlow, which I appreciated since Harlow could be a bit of a weirdo and bull in a China shop. I was concerned once when Harlow was a strong, leash-pulling puppy because Bonnie had a leg injury at one point but still insisted on coming to take Harlow for a walk. Bonnie later told me that Harlow didn’t pull during that time, and even gently leaned into Bonnie’s hurt leg as if to support her a bit.

As she aged, Harlow needed less potty breaks, then the pandemic hit, which put the walks on hold. When things became a bit safer, Bonnie came to visit Harlow, and as we sat in my backyard, she shared a story with me about how as a teen she had snuck out of her house to ride a bus with a friend to another city entirely and participate in a protest. My memory may be fuzzy but I think an arrest was involved?

Bonnie was a badass.

Occasionally she would come to walk Harlow while I had started working from home post-pandemic. With Bonnie showing up while I was still home, Harlow would look back and forth between the two of us. Who’s in charge here?!

I’d hear them leave and Bonnie telling her as the headed down the porch steps “I am not a kite!” Harlow never did master not pulling on the leash until very late in her life (or maybe it’s more accurate to say I never mastered training her not to pull.)!

My work days became shorter thanks to the work culture change birthed from the pandemic, which led to no more need for walks. Time passed and my parents’ dog Bootsie died, and they began to care for Harlow when I went out of town. Bonnie would message me occasionally through FB, and watch Harlow’s antics and comment on her FB page The Daily Harlow.

Last May, Bonnie got in touch that she’d like to visit Harlow. We tried to get our schedules to match up. In July, I let her know that Harlow had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. She would message periodically to check in on Harlow, which I appreciated so much. In late July, I messaged her again to let her know that Harlow’s tumor was very small, and the oncologist felt we could buy her a year with chemo. “I’m SOO emotional reading this !!! Thank you Thank you for telling me !! Still let me know when I can give her a squeeze” she responded.

We continued to try and plan a visit. Meetings came up, illness, last minute schedule changes, family stuff. Her messages continued to follow up on past updates, “Is she eating?” and “what did the vet say?”

“I’ve always felt tight to her.” she texted recently, “Don’t know why”

I got a call from her daughter Amanda on a Friday a few weeks ago, and knew it wasn’t good. Bonnie was in the hospital and not expected to recover, “I have her calendar and I see she was going to come see you on Tuesday” Amanda told me her mom wouldn’t be coming.

Bonnie is gone now, and I am heartbroken for her daughters and loved ones. Bonnie was a true original. She loved the animals she cared for, had an incredible professional past, a robust life, what seemed to me to be an incredible compass for justice, and a great pride in her daughters. She was a force.

To tell you my heart is heavy that Bonnie and Harlow didn’t get one last visit would be an understatement. When we scheduled for that Tuesday, I texted “I’m sorry it’s been so difficult to schedule! It’s been such a busy couple of months!”

“I’m not concerned. If things change, let me know” I don’t know if heaven exists, of if Bonnie believed in it, but if souls meet up somewhere, I know Bonnie will be one waiting for Harlow, and I feel good knowing Harlow will see someone she loves.

I’m so thankful Bonnie had this photo from that day in my backyard on her FB page!