My Girl Greta

Greta showed up in my life on March 01, 2002. I had recently lost a great dog named Shadow to liver cancer (see Papa's Little Girl post from 02/13/2005) I was torn over losing her but missed the companionship of a good dog. A friend who volunteered at Atlanta Pet Rescue asked if I would foster a puppy named Greta they had just picked up from the Spalding County Shelter, but couldn't offer for adoption until she was spayed. I picked up Greta on a Friday after work, and within minutes knew I would keep her.

Greta was exactly 4 months old that day, weighed 19 pounds, and was full of energy. At first she loved to chase squirrels and once she treed them she would stay at the base and bark at them as if to say "why wont't you come back down and play?" Of course I worried she would chase one into the street but in parks trees were the preferred escape. One day I noticed a dead squirrel that must have just died. It looked like it was taking a nap. I called her attention to it and she charged over expecting it to flee. When it didn't move Greta kept circling it and barking at it. When the squirrel still didn't move she began nudging it with her nose and barking incessantly.

Fortunately we discovered a more enjoyable activity. I started tossing a tennis ball and of course Greta would fetch it, actually bring it back and drop it at my feet. If I didn't pick it up she would pick it up,toss it at my feet again, and bark at me to toss it until I did. One day it bounced over a neighbor's fence out of sight. Just like with the squirrel she sat there and barked, but when I tossed her a different ball she caught it and immediately spit it out. Not until I climbed over the fence and retrieved the one we started with would she be happy. Whatever ball we started with was the only one Greta would retrieve. If we were walking in woods I could threw the ball into the deepest brush or even in a direction when she was looking elsewhere not seeing the actual throw and Greta would starting working her way around until she located it. Sometimes that could take 15-20 minutes, but she almost always located that ball. Of course tennis ball retrieval became her favorite activity for her entire life. She especially loved retrieving it from ponds, lakes, and rivers and became a very strong swimmer.


Since Greta loved riding in a car road trips were memorable times together. The longest one was to Oklahoma for a family reunion in 2009. It was 870 miles each way and of course Greta had a great time chasing tennis balls and swimming in the lakes on my cousin's property. She also could recognize many places we frequented and as we got close she would stand up, wag her tail and bark excitedly. She was extremely friendly with every person she met, but there were some dogs she just did not like. Most of the time they were dogs big or small that wanted to jump at or on her, and she would let them know that was totally unacceptable. I never saw her back down from an aggressive dog either but she would ignore them if they weren't close.

Greta followed my orthopedic journey with two canine cruciate ligament surgeries on her rear legs. The procedure is called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. When she injured her left rear leg in 2010 she was referred to an orthopedic vet surgeon. He told me she would not be able to walk up or down stairs for several weeks after the operation. Since Greta weighed 45 pounds, hated being picked up and lived in a 3 story condo this looked like a challenge. I ordered a special leash for dogs with hip issues; when it arrived I brought the package into the living room where Greta was resting. I opened the package,she took one look at it, hopped up on the couch and gave me a look that said "don't even think about using that thing on me." As it turned out she was able to negotiate stairs with just a normal leash. After 12 weeks Greta gradually resumed all her normal activity including ball retrieval. I was jealous; her surgeries and rehab were more successful than the many I've undergone. Two years later she injured the other rear leg but again still chased the ball, but wanted time outs more frequently. I think her age also began to slow her down. Nevertheless, trips to the forest trail and river were meet with excitement, tail wagging and ball retrieval.

Last November Greta developed a sinus infection which was turned out to be cancerous. I consulted with 2 vets; because the treatment was invasive, and the prognosis was not great, I decided to just keep her comfortable. She remained comfortable and normal until the very end. I went to participate in the Race Across America and left her with a friend who always kept her whenever I was gone and could not take her with me. Two days later I got a call that she was at the vet and seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. While driving to California I consulted with the vet and made the painful decision. In a way it was a blessing since I have always had a difficult time being present. My friend Jeannette was there and it was a peaceful passing. I also had 2 weeks of being involved with the Race Across America (RAAM) to help divert the pain.

Now I am home and about to embark on a road trip that Greta made with me several times. Reality has set in. I miss Greta's companionship, but she will live the rest of my life in fond memories. To again reflect on the quote in the book My Dog Skip, "she's not really gone; a part of Greta lies buried in my heart."