I will never know how it feels to have a human child. But, I will always know how it feels to have had a dog named Iggy. I will always know how it felt on our first morning as a new family when he pooped in the kitchen and looked at me to confirm if he did okay. Me scooting him out the back door to finish while I cleaned up his first day mess. Him finding the one spot in my fence where his little body could shimmy through on that first day. My fear that I had failed and my delight that his sweet soul came back to me. You will never be able to understand how impressed I was when he caught his first toy, mid-air. You can't imagine how proud I might have been that morning that he saw a bunny several houses down on our way home from the park that he was ready to chase but I had to use the bathroom. How he waited in our driveway and only took off after I came outside after peeing. The way we played hide and seek at the greenway. How, when it snowed, he insisted on going outside to lay in it as if auditioning for an ASPCA commercial. He hated thunder and came to believe that the best way to stop it was to drive in the car. So, no matter what time of day, if it thundered, we had to drive around until it stopped. My (not so little) weirdo would insist on drinking water from the bathtub faucet. We had our own way of communicating, with me learning that a high-pitched bark meant he lost a ball under a piece of furniture, a medium-pitched bark at the back door meant he urgently needed to go out, and that steady "ruff ruff ruff" that sounded like he was pretending to be a dog meant that someone was coming too close to our home. He was sooo incredibly patient with babies and puppies but did not immediately trust a single man. I'd always say, "he's good with the ladies but might bark at your husband." He came into my life as a wee fellow who grew to be 85 pounds of curly hair and a giant pink tongue. I love him still and will miss him forever. My heart will never mend from this. There will always be a fracture and that is where he will reside. Mama is still talking to you every morning, baby. And I'll be there as soon as I can.

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Ignatius "Iggy" Harrell's People Parent(s), Sandra, would appreciate knowing you have visited their Ignatius "Iggy" Harrell's Memorial Residency.

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