In Memoriam: Our Minx 1995-2009
by Pepper
Mitch and I decided this week that after giving her humans almost 14 wonderful years, that it was time to allow Minx to continue on the next part of her journey. Although maintaining a healthy appetite to the end, she had been not been herself for about 8 months now. The vet’s office, normally not her favorite place [especially with the numerous visits of the past month] was a quiet and restful place this final time, and I’d like to think that she knew that after all this time we were finally ready to say goodbye to our clown.
Many of you knew and met Minx from the various visits to my home office. She had many nicknames, The Dark One [referring to the darkness of her soul], Satan’s Lapdog, Breath Monster, and in a former life, The Bunny Rocket. She was often introduced as The Worst Guard Dog in the World, for her absolute mellowness when meeting new people [mellow meaning, she wouldn't bother to get up unless she could smell them carrying food!]
The day before our appointment with the vet, we took her to the park one final time so she could frolic. She instead found a patch of grass close to the car and plopped down to relax, her bunny chasing days long gone. I am very happy that I was able to get these pictures of her, looking very relaxed and peaceful, and probably wondering why mommy and daddy were crying. It was time to let her go.
Here she is with her sister Phaedra in the background [as you can see Phae's tumor is getting bigger by the day, we worry another post like this is not far off....]
As we sat there, she started looking up at the sky. There were no birds, only a slight breeze, and we sat, breathing in the spring air and watching the clouds…
She lay down in the car and watched hopefully out the window as we ordered her a favorite treat, a burger and an ice cream cone…
This was taken last winter. Minx was a Russian Borzoi with a thick coat of fur. In the summertime we would shave her down so it was enjoyable, but in the winter we would let it grow long. One of her favorite places in the world was to lie down in thick snow and eat a treat, and she’d stay there for hours, or until she knew there was food elsewhere to be had!
When our son Zen was 3 weeks old, we thought a little photo session with him and our girls would be perfect. Phaedra would have nothing to do with little Zen, and she refused to cooperate at all. Minx however, let us know that she was perfectly willing to sell out whatever principles she had about appearing in photographs with 3 week old people, as long as there was food to be had. Unfortunately, Zen decided Minx was getting a much better deal and so this is all we got…
You know she’s thinking “Well, just because HE’S not behaving properly, that doesn’t mean I don’t get MY treat, right?”
These next few were taken by my BFF Sara France in 2005….
Many thanks to Amy for sending these images to us…
I would love to write a long list of funny stories, but to be honest, this is the first pet I’ve had to put down, and only the second friend I’ve ever lost, so this is difficult to write, it was difficult to photograph my Minxy at the park the final time, and it was awful saying goodbye at the vets. To their credit, the kind folks at Cottonwood Animal Hospital were fabulous, and I am grateful to them for their sensitivity.
Anyway, I would love it if those of you who knew Minx, who loved her dearly, or who had only met her once, if everyone would write a comment, share their thoughts and funny stories about this marvelous animal. This magnificent creature with the funny nose, who ran so fast and got into so many garbage cans, who drove us crazy with her bad habits, who gave us so many stories to laugh at now…
We love you Minx, and we miss you already. Thank you.
May 7th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
FINDING MINX:
Shortly after moving apartments just so that we could keep Phaedra, Amy announced that we were going on a field trip as she had caught wind of a Borzoi litter of pure Russian stock…’just to look’, mind you. When we went to visit this pack of strange and awkward creatures (Borzoi puppies rank up there with the platypus in terms of unlikeliness), most of them kept close to their mother’s heels. This was fine with Phaedra, who has cultivated a distaste for puppies ever since she was one herself, as this left her free to explore the breeders capacious yard without having to defend herself. Or it would have, if not for this single black pup who seemed to be fascinated by Phaedra. This elongated whelp began to cautiously stock our Ridgeback around the yard as long as Phaedra had her back turned. As soon as Phaedra spun on her heels to identify her pursuer, Minx would quickly run back to the safety of the pack…but only for as long as Phaedra was watching. This went on for a good long while with the Borzoi puppy closing ground on her prey as her courage grew until finally Phaedra grudgingly paid the thing some attention. A mistake as it turns out because then Phaedra was pretty much stuck with her. Minx began her lifelong goal of becoming a Rhodesian Ridgeback that afternoon with Phaedra providing ample bad habits to emulate.
May 7th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
MINX’S NAME:
In giving Minx her full registered name Amy cobbled together a bit of Russian phrasing that she hoped would both honor the breed’s heritage as well as evoke a sense of her hunting prowess: Krolik Pryakyatta, AKA Minx.
A few years later we actually made friends with a Russian émigré and we decided to run our effort past her to see if Minx’s name in fact meant what we thought it did.
“Oh no,” our Russian friend said apologetically, “I don’t think that you got it right. It doesn’t really make sense.”
“Well, what does it translate as?” we asked.
“Well its something like ‘Rabbit Missile’, or maybe ‘Bunny Rocket’…”
“PERFECT!” We were elated. “That’s just what we thought it meant!”
Our new friend furrowed her brow and announced that American’s were even stranger than she had been informed.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:01 am
MINX AND THE BABY BUNNY:
Once while out walking the grrrls out in the fields, Minx began digging in some discarded sod. Soon enough she came trotting over to me, pride in her step, and something in her mouth. Minx had uncovered a burrow of newborn bunnies, their eyes barely open, and had gently gathered up one of the timid creatures in her mouth and gingerly brought it over to present it to me. So gentle and deliberate was her behavior that I at first thought that she was perhaps concerned for these little rabbit’s welfare. But as I leaned down to share in her discovery, Minx suddenly and repeatedly chomped down on the furry little charge nested in her maw, killing it instantly and in short order reducing it to a flattened bolus of boneless fur, which she then spat out at my feet. She then looked up at me, gave me a self-satisfied smile and awaited her praise. “You are really twisted, Minx”, was all I could muster. This seemed to be enough as she wagged her tail, seemed to give a bit of a giggle, and bounded of in search of other adventures. Apparently she just wanted an audience.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:04 am
MINX’S SLEEP NUMBER:
As Pepper mentioned, Minx was most comfortable in the snow, which she would lounge in for hours if given the chance. On more than one occasion we would look in the yard and not see her there, so we would call to her. A snow bank would stir and out of the pristine white would emerge the groggy black head of a dog who had fallen asleep while the snow fell.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:20 am
MINX AND UTHER:
Amy’s aging cat Uther was mostly blind, entirely deaf, and eventually bereft of the sense of smell. With this last development Uther ceased performing all of his catly self-cleaning duties and turned less black than dusty charcoal grey with an undercoat of inky oil. In time, this became too much for Minx to take, who began to take it upon herself to clean Uther as she had observed him cleaning himself. A dog tongue is approximately 6 or 7 times the area of a cat’s and impels considerably more force, so to watch this take place was a bit like watching a person attempting to maintain their footing in gail-force winds. Uther seemed to sense that as unpleasant as this experience was, it was really for the best, and he would tolerate it for up to 10 minutes before revolting. The telltale sign that Minx had done his laundry for him was provided by her apparent lack of awareness of the feline concept of the ‘grain’ of fur – Uther would stumble around the house, mostly senseless, displaying a collection of MONSTROUS cowlicks which would solidify from the liberal amounts of drool which Minx lavished on Uther’s upkeep.
May 8th, 2009 at 6:14 am
I’m so sorry for your loss. Minx is beautiful. Although I never met Minx, I am in tears as I read your post because I can only imagine the pain you must feel in having to have made the gut-wrentching, but kind-hearted and loving decision to allow her to move on. I’ve never had to make that decision, but I’ve experienced the loss of of 4-legged family members and know the pain of it as they truly are members of our family and they bring us such joy and unconditional love. My thoughts, prayers and hugs go out to you and Mitch. Bless you. Bless Minx.
“Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. Her bright eyes are intent; Her eager body quivers. Suddenly she begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, her legs carrying her faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….”
Author unknown
May 8th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Pep & Mitch,
I am saddened to tears by this news which, for me was completely unexpected. I had entirely expected this news of Phae to be forthcoming, but not the elegant dancer, Minx.
I enjoyed my each and every visit with her and Her stoic stare and Breathy Welcomes will surely be missed.
I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to visit with the Girls In the Fall of 2007. We would talk for hours and drain yet another bottle of wine as we waxed poetic of all of our misadventures, both newly shared and old ones intently told.
Needless to say, her physicality will be missed….her spirit will be on the wind and with the frightened bunnies.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:11 am
In the summer of 2003, my first summer with Minx, we lived in an apartment with not the best air conditioning in the world. At this point, with the temperature rising, we began finding scratch marks on the wall about 2 feet or more up, and couldn’t figure out how it was happening until the middle of the night a few weeks later. In the middle of the night, we awoke suddenly to the most awful sound imaginable, like the world’s biggest cat trying to cough up a hair ball, or someone retching, but in your ear, it was AWFUL! Clearly, one of our dogs was dying! We raced to flip the lights on, and found Minx in a very odd position for a dog. She was sleeping full on her back and exposing her fleshy belly! However, because her legs are so incredibly long, just sleeping on her back wasn’t enough, because she couldn’t stay in that position without tipping over. So she would lie on her side, do a funny squiggle dance move to flip to her back, and do this right next to a wall. We found her in the middle of the night splayed on her back with her legs resting on the wall high abover her head. She was having a dream about chasing bunnies and her legs were running, creating the scratch marks we’d been seeing on the wall, but then she had barked in her sleep. Not a big deal, they do it all the time, but being upside down, she had somewhat swallowed her tongue and then woke us up getting it back out the right way! After several nights of this, we decided the belly sleep had to go, and guessing that she was hot, had her shorn like a sheep. Thus was born the tradition of shearing her every spring, but unfortunately it did not cure her of sleeping upside down, but we figured out a solution on our own. We began wearing earplugs at night.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Minx always reminded me of a super model, long and lanky with an unconventional beauty that is so much stronger and striking than conventional beauty. Her face was quite bewitching, I remember the first time I walked in your house and saw her. She captured me. She was bewildering.
She was also unique in my mind because she always had a giant grin on her face. I have seen dogs smile occasionally, but Minx nearly always had a grin affixed to her face, big smiling eyes with an even bigger grin.
Once Tim asked me if I thought animals had souls, All you have to do is look at the photos of minx’s deep brown eyes to know that they do. I am sure Minx is somewhere happily chasing rabbits again!
May 8th, 2009 at 10:40 am
MINX SAYS HELLO:
As many of you have experienced, Minx had a standard greeting. She would casually but forcefully insert her pointy face into one’s crotch and just stand there waiting for affection. Being as tall as she was she could do this without much effort and it took several dozen people by surprise over the years. It was a great ice breaker and watching how people coped with it served as a handy litmus test for people’s temperament.
May 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Mitch and Pepper.. My heartfelt sympathies as I know exactly how you feel today. Last week my fiance Tom had to put my lump old lady, Dixie, down. She had been diagnosed with lymphoma 12 days prior. I thought I had more time with her and left for my grandfather’s funeral in Iowa begging her to hold on until I could get back. Unfortunately that wasn’t in the cards for me or her. She went peacefully with her head in Tom’s lap. Treasure the time you got to spend with Minx on her last day.. the photos, the special moments. A long time ago a Ridgeback person said “It’s better to let them go one minute too early than one minute too late.” I hope you can find peace and comfort in knowing you were loyal and loving pet parents to her by helping her in the end. As I write this I am in tears feeling the enormous void you must be feeling as you continue on without her. I’m sure that the feel of her fur and the sound of her tags is achingly fresh in your minds. In all the years with our beloved pets… the end of the journey is the only downside. Tally ho, Minx!
May 8th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Minx was a wonderful animal who had a very full and interesting life. Because she was so unusual looking she attracted a lot of attention and was completely oblivious to it all. She was a great sidekick for Phaedra.
She was funny in her enthusiasm for life, running, going places in the car, etc. She loved to go to the dog beach in CA.
Things I will never forget:
- Minx out running a brace of whippets on a beach in San Diego
- Waking up to a pointy nose and beady eyes staring at you
- Watching her run – amazing
- The 13 hour drive through the night that Mitch made to bring her home from northern CA
- Minx and Phae on a hike through a canyon or in the back of the SUV on a long haul from CA to Utah (they made many trips)
- The funny noises that Minx made
- The dance she did while waiting for her dish to be filled
I loved her. She was a wonderful part of our family, our life and our story.
Love, Mamala
May 8th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Pep and Mitch,
As I write, I have tears of joy and sorrow. Joy because you had so many fine years with Minx and most importantly Zen was able to be in her presence for over a year. Good or bad moments (the newborn pix) boys love their dogs! Jaggie and Crue will be so disappointed when they found out their friend is no longer home when they come to visit. My sorrow is for the pain that you are experiencing right now as you close this chapter with your beautiful Minx! My heart goes out to all of you.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
OK, here is a favorite Minx story. It’s Easter Sunday in California. I have spent the entire day with my mother in law preparing hat is going to be a fabulous Easter dinner. [For those of you who know me well, you know that cooking is not my strong suit...] We’ve decorated the house, and having some leftover ribbon from a basket, I tied a big lavender bow around minx’s neck. She loved it! She pranced all day long with this bow on… While we have been cooking, our men have spent the day golfing and drinking wine, so they are all sunburnt and a bit goofy, and they brought a friend home to have dinner with us. Dr. Doug is a great guy, and quite a character.
On this day, getting crispy in the sun and drinking much wine, he gets to meet minx for the first time. He then launches into a lengthy discussion with Mitch on why cats are much better than dogs. Mitch, as many of you know, is fiercely loyal to his family, and is torn between being polite to his intoxicated guest, or telling him off and that he can go eat his dinner out by the trash cans if he doesn’t shut up. Mitch decides to be polite and prove him wrong, and over the next hour puts both dogs through every single trick he has ever taught them [which are many]. Mitch is feeling pretty good about how things are progressing, and Doug grudgingly admits that perhaps our dogs are just much better behaved than dogs as a whole.
As he says this, Minx the princess pranced outside to join us, very happy with her big lavender bow! Someone said “Oh my goodness, I think she caught a rat!” I looked over and, seeing what she had caught, sadly informed the guests “No, that’s not a rat. I hope nobody wanted seconds of the lamb.” Minx was so tall that she had been able to steal the lamb off of the top of the oven! In her excitement, she had run outside to enjoy her plunder and show us what she had done! It is a strange and wonderful thing to see thoughts going through an animal’s mind. We could actually see her thinking “HA HA! Look what I found!” followed immediately by “Oh crap. I forgot, i wasn’t supposed to show them, they’re going to get mad….” And she immediately lays down and plays dead.
It didn’t work, she got in trouble anyway, but I don’t know what upset Mitch more, the ruined lamb, or that Dr. Doug seemed so pleased to have won the argument. Being entirely fair though, while we dined on the outside patio, we had brought the dogs with us and shut the doors so they couldn’t get back inside. A certain guest went back inside at one point and we will say ‘accidentally’ left the door open, leaving the way clear for big doggies with not big brains to get back in….
May 8th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Mitch and Pepper,
I am so sorry for your loss. It is still hard for me to hold back the tears when I think of the day I had to put Corona to sleep and the look in her eyes full of love and trust. It is so hard to explain how difficult it is to go through that experience and feel those kind of emotions. I know that Minx was always a happy dog and that you and Pepper loved her very much, she could not have had better parents. Especially ones who could tolerate her breath, now that was unconditional love!
I am saddend to see Phaedra with her tumors, it reminds me so much of our Ridgeback when I was a child. She grew those tumors as well. This past Christmas I gave my parents a new puppy, a King George/Maltiese mix. She is adorable and has woken up my parents’ hearts once again. It has been about 4 years since they had to put their old “Puppy” to rest. At first my father balked, but now he is compleatly in love. Dogs fill our hearts and our homes with joy and laughter than will never be forgotten.
All I can say is that having a dog is one of the greatest blessings in the world. They spend their whole lives loving and protecting us, and all they ask in return is our ability to help them pass on in a peaceful manner when the time comes. Minx knows you made the right decision at the right time for her.
Love,
John
May 8th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Minx always made me smile. Looking at her face, with that outrageously long, narrow nose and those big brown eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Last March when I came to meet my little nephew, Zen, I was amazed at how mellow both Minx and Phaedra were around this new little baby. Such sweet dogs….
I know that losing Minx leaves a big hole in your hearts. It’s good that you are giving yourselves room both to grieve and recall happy memories of this special friend.
Love, Kristin
May 8th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
My brother caught Gucci with one paw on the foot pedal to the garbage can holding the lid open, and his head down in the trash feasting on whatever organic refuse he could retrieve. When confronted, he paused without lifting his head, and then began to redouble his pace on the trash. He knew he’d soon be pulled out of the can, and figured there was a bigger reward for not going willingly.
May 9th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Delightfully funny stories of Minx, told by Pepper and Mitch, have entertained me over the years. Mitch has such a wonderful way with telling stories of “the girls”. I’m sure we will continue to be entertained reliving stories of funny Minx for years to come. Must admit…I didn’t think it was very funny when she would find her way into the trash can on my “watch”. It always surprised me finding her mess. Couldn’t believe what I was seeing…and that she did it so quietly.
There are so many things I will remember about Minx. But what I will remember most fondly are her dances. First, there were the very enthusiastic dances for her breakfast and dinner bowl. She was always sooo excited to eat. Then there was the “I have to go out to “tee tee” dance. But… there was a third dance. Did I mention…? All of her dances looked pretty much the same,… but the most important dance to me was the dance she would do when I would visit. Knowing from her dance that she remembered me and was excited to see me always made me feel special. Minx was one of the sweetest creatures ever to walk this earth. The only time I ever saw Minx bare her teeth was when Roderick brought his new rambunctious puppy into Minx’s space. It was very funny. She definitely set a boundary with Chubb.
I’m so sad Minx is gone…and can’t believe it. I will miss her funny face…and, especially, her dances.
May 10th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
The connection to a loved one, like your Minx, is boundless and palpable.
Thank you for listing the many stories about her; if only every pet could be so lucky to have humans like you.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I remember the time that I got to see your new house for the first time. We walked in the door and the trash was everywhere! Minx had broken into the trash can and left pieces of it all over the house. I remember thinking how can you be mad at a face like that.
I also remember Minx always wanting to get really close to me with her nose and have it nose to nose with mine. She was such a sweet dog and she always just to sniff and breath on me.
She will be missed! Rest in peace out sweet Minx!
May 14th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
My most fond memory of Minx was every time I stayed at your house on Ramona and slept in the basement Minx would sleep right under the couch and wake me up every morning by sticking her beak in my face and waking me by breathing heavy with that doggie breathe to let me she wanted to go outside.
She was always a good sport with my rambunctious Chubbs and the both of us will miss her dearly.
May 26th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Sorry for your loss!!!!!!