Irie, my chocky dog girl.
Irie was a beautiful chocolate Lab. She loved the game of fetch. That’s what she was doing with her Mom the very first time I saw her at Amory Park in Brookline Ma some 13 years ago. She moved with ease… and was one of the most athletic dogs I’ve known. Her grace was not just in movement. True to her Jamaican name, Irie got along with every dog and person she met. Irie means ‘good’ and translates to ‘at total peace with your current state of being…the way you feel when you have no worries.’
Irie and I spent alot of time together. I remember a day in September 1999 when it rained a total of 10 inches in 24 hours because it was also the day that I first saw my little baby kitten Ally scrambling under a car to get out of the rain. Irie and I had just frolicked in puddles and torrential rain for an hour or so along the Muddy River. Her labrador love-of-water genes expressed themselves that day and on several others over the years.
One in particular involved my dogboy Szap and a stick… Szap was some 30 feet from the shore and about 5 feet from the stick when Irie launched herself into the water and in pursuit of the prized stick. Szap had just gotten to the stick and started to turn for shore when Irie grabbed on. SHE EASILY DUNKED MY SHEPHERD BOY. He came up dazed and definitely confused. All along I had been thinking Szap was a pretty good swimmer but Irie showed me a thing or two about the difference in their swimming capabilities!
Irie wasn’t all that interested in other dogs. She didn’t not like them. She just could care less. They just happened to be a part of the scenery and access to adventure. That is, except for Zeze… Irie just couldn’t resist an all out run with Zeze (who could get any dog to play in her younger days). It was too bad that they didn’t get to spend more time together as they truly enjoyed one another. I never saw Irie engage with another dog never mind play. Irie also had Casey, a lifelong friend who was also a chocolate lab. I suspect that Casey was Irie’s best water dog girlfriend and Zeze her land bound hound girlfriend.
As the years passed, some worries crept in, inspite of her namesake. She became increasingly more terrified of thunderstorms and eventually, would not go outside for more than a good long pee – even when there was a just a hint of a storm in the distance. She also had Addison’s Disease for most of her adult life but it was well managed (she never crashed as many dogs with AD do). She ate home-cooked meals all of her life. She spent four days on the Cape every week from early May to late November. And when in Boston, she was rarely on leash. She had tremendous freedom because, she was SO GOOD she deserved loose reins.
Some dogs are so naturally with you from birth that they hardly need formal dog training. Irie was ALL THAT. In part because of who she was BUT, also because, her Mom is such an amazing and wonderful woman. Irie, I’ll miss you forever. I loved you very much. To Irie’s Mom, I love you too. I’m sorry for your tremendous loss.