Ode to Moonlight Sonata

Chihuahuas love to burrow,
Chihuahuas love to fight.
If you're not someone they know and love,
Watch out for their bite!
Little bitty tiny dogs,
But they make it up in attitude.
And never, never, never
Come between one and its food!
They're smaller than they think they are,
But it'˜s just too cute to miss.
Dynamite in tiny packages,
But I think you've got the gist.

She was our small protector;
At least, that's how she saw it.
Our little "mini-rottweiler",
That's what we came to call it.
Fierce, mean, and vicious,
To strangers from outside.
But to the members of her pack,
She was a great source of pride.
Kind and very gentle,
with those of us she loved.
A stranger got the ankle bites,
But family got the hugs.

If I'd only had the money,
If I'd only had a car,
I could've taken her to the doctor--
But it was too damn far!
We had to watch her suffer,
Throughout that night--in pain.
I know that I can never
Go through that stuff, again.
She howled and whined, throughout the night,
But there was nothing I could do.
Only lay beside her, petting her,
And crying all night, too.

Sedona was the one who found her,
When she woke up for school.
Moonlight had passed on,
Her body had grown cool.
No more will we hear her
Whipping her ears around.
No more will we hear her nails
Making those clicking sounds.
No more will she force her tears,
When begging for our food.
No more burrowing under covers,
To lighten someone's mood.

We won't hear her any more,
Making her queenly demands.
We loved her and took care of her,
She was a member of our clan.
No more holding down her head,
To give her a kiss.
This little black Chihuahua
Will be sorely missed.
She's buried by the back doorstep,
Where she had staked her claim.
Goodbye, my dog, my pet, my friend;
Moonlight Sonata was her name.

----Melissa A. Lawson
January 24, 2011