Thread by @ericgeller

We had to say goodbye to @maddieratner yesterday due to a sudden health issue. We were very lucky that she was with us for 14 years, but we still weren't ready for this.

A big part of our world is gone now.

@maddieratner Maddie was the light of our lives. We loved her so much. And even though she lived an amazing, full life, anyone who’s made this choice knows it’s never easy. We’re struggling to deal with the emptiness.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss coming home and finding Maddie waiting at the top of the stairs to the garage, her whole body swaying back and forth from her vigorous tail-wagging.

When she was younger, she’d grab a toy on her way to the door, like she had to have something to present to us.

@maddieratner Even as Maddie’s hearing declined and she stopped being able to hear the garage door or people walking up the front steps, she never lost that energy. As soon as we came into view, whether she was standing or lying down, the tail would start up.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss Maddie hunting around under the dinner table for scraps, including napkins that fell off people’s laps. Maddie loved napkins.

During holiday dinners, she’d wedge herself into the empty space under the table, lie down, and wait.

@maddieratner When it was just the four of us, Maddie would wander around the table imploring each of us to give her food. My dad was always the easiest mark. If she kept striking out, she’d go into “give-up mode” and lie down on her bed.

@maddieratner Maddie also loved challah. Friday nights were a highlight for her. Our good little Jewish dog.

Peanut butter, too. That made it easy to give her medicine. Wedge a pill into some peanut butter on a Ritz cracker and she wouldn’t think twice.

@maddieratner Sometimes, she would grab a shoe or a dish towel and run into the dining room, prompting a game of “I’m going to get you!” involving a chase around the table. Sometimes, with help, one of us would corner her, but we’d let her “slip past us” so the chase could continue.

@maddieratner When the jig was finally up, the game turned into tug-of-war. She had a strong grip. We’d have to fetch a pretzel (another favorite food) to get her to drop her ill-gotten gains.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss those games.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss taking Maddie to the beach and watching her race around on the sand — or roll around in it, like she just felt too clean.

@maddieratner When Maddie was younger, she loved paddling around in a local creek.

We thought she’d love our pool when it was done, but she mostly treated it like a big water bowl. She was a weirdo.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss watching Maddie bound through the snow that settled into our neighborhood after a blizzard, or roll around in the backyard and make dog snow angels.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss taking Maddie into the woods, standing 20 ft away, kneeling down, and calling her name. She’d bound over tree limbs & skid to a halt, then race back in the other direction when someone else called her.

Even this year, she loved racing up and down long hallways.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss dressing her up in costumes that she tolerated with only the faintest sense of lost dignity.

She was Supergirl for Halloween last year. This year, she would have been Baby Shark.

@maddieratner I’m going to miss walking Maddie through town and seeing everyone stop to greet her. She was never very enthusiastic about other dogs, but she loved meeting people. *Everyone* commented on how soft she was. Little kids loved her.

@maddieratner Given how affectionate she was with everyone, it was fitting that the one award she really competed for and ended up winning was “Best Kisser.”

@maddieratner Most of all, I’m going to miss those quiet, boring moments where it was just the two of us in my parents’ house and Maddie was lying on the floor nearby. She just wanted to be near us. It was so sweet.

She didn’t ask for much, but she gave us more than we ever expected.

@maddieratner

@maddieratner