It's been a tough, sad, emotional few days for the McDonald family, so forgive me if my words do not flow very well through this post. Yesterday, we sadly had to let go of our family puppy of 15 years, Nittany. Saying goodbye to him is relatively one of the hardest things I have been through in my life. He was my brother, my buddy. He has spent the past 15 years being a member of our little family of 3. Nittany was a true blessing in our lives and I will never forget the memories we shared with him.
I remember when my mom and I went to pick out a puppy when I was in highschool. A family in our neighborhood had just had a litter of puppies and were giving them away. When we showed up to the house, there were lots of cute little black puppies running around like crazy, crawling over our feet, looking for attention. But one little fur ball was running the other direction... under a bush. The owners went over and dragged him back out just to watch him run back under the bush. And of course I thought, "that's my dog!" I am sure Nittany's brothers and sisters made great dogs to the families they joined as well, but I definitely say we got the best pick of the litter.
Nittany was very literally a dog genius. Even from a young age, he was quick to learn. He absolutely LOVED to play. Outside, Nittany would chase tennis balls and catch frisbees for HOURS. He was savvy enough to learn to drop the ball or frisbee right in front of my dad's path while he was mowing the grass so he had no choice but to stop and play. He could catch any frisbee you threw him 9 times out of 10.
My parents home does not have a fence, so from the time Nittany was a puppy, he was trained to stay in our yard. Without any electric fences or leashes, and not a single running away incident, Nittany self-monitored himself to stay within the parameters of our yard. It was honestly a sight to see. You could literally let him out the front door and not watch him at all and when you went back out, he'd either be sitting at the door waiting for you or sniffing around the confines of his domain. Such a good boy.
Nittany also had toys inside the house. A few of his favorites over time were the rubber duck (which he literally chewed until it's head came off), Santa Barney (my friends' personal favorite), Ralphie (a green dinosaur) and his squeaky football. Nittany was so smart he would know each and every single one of his toys by name- and trust me, there were WAY more than the few mentioned above. He would dig through his toy box until he found the requested and would bring it right to you. Smartest.Dog.Ever.
Another favorite thing of Nittany's was jumping on the furniture. My parents did not allow Nittany on the beds and couches in our house. He was a floor dog and he knew that. But when he was younger and we would go out for a few hours, we would return to couch cushions knocked onto the floor. He was always smart enough to know exactly when we left and then be off before we returned. I laughed at those couch cushions everytime.
Nittany also LOOOOVED (or hated, depending on how you look at it) the mailman. He used to literally chase the mailman through the house. He would start at the window in our dining room where he could first see him approach, then run to the front windows by the front porch that the mailman would walk on to deliver the mail. He then ran upstairs to the office window, chased him to the guest bedroom window, all the while barking like a crazy dog. The mailman would wave to him as he crossed through the yard.
I am convinced Nittany knew how to tell time. When he was younger, he would begin to get alert and ready for my dad to come home in the evenings at the same time. He would sit by the door and wait until he saw my dad's car lights turning into the cul-de-sac and then he would push open the front door with his nose and run down to greet him at his car. He was always on time and always so happy to see daddy come home.
Football Saturdays and Sundays must have been some of Nittany's favorite days ever. My mom always sets up tailgates of yummy snacks for football days in our family room and we would sit around for hours watching game after game. Everytime we cheered or celebrated, Nittany would jump up from his spot on the floor ready for a celebratory pepperoni. He always knew when one of our teams scored or did something great and was ready for his treat. After all, he was practically a fan of all of our teams as he sported his VT, PSU, Cowboys or Steelers bandanas.
Nittany loved cheeseburgers. And pepperoni. And roast beef. He enjoyed riding in the car when he was younger and could climb into the back. He loved, loved, loved to play, inside and out. He never left the yard. He could shake and give kisses, and a few times even flipped a pepperoni from on top of his nose into his mouth. But most of all, he loved us. Every single day for 15 years. He watched us sleep. He protected our home. Nittany would sleep in every room of the house to make sure we were all okay. He would lick away tears when I had a bad day or give kisses on the cheek.
I am heartbroken to say goodbye to my brother for the past 15 years. I miss him already. I can only pray that he knew how much we loved him and will cherish the incredible memories we have. I may be a little bit biased, but in my book, Nittany was the best.dog.ever.
