Back in September of 2023, I was looking through posts on the “neighbor” app, and saw this strange little puppy that caught my eye. We were not looking for another dog, and it was barely going to be a year since Juju’s chihuahua, Hershey, had passed away. But something about this little dog made me send the message. She was available.
I quickly called a friend of mine, and surprisingly, he was available to drive me. I told Juju I’d be back with a surprise, and walked out the door.
It was about a 20-minute drive, and I was so excited. We got there, the lady stepped out, gave me a brief history, and went back in to get the puppy. And when I saw her, I just knew she would be nothing but trouble. She showed no fear. She immediately gave me kisses. I asked for an approximate birthday, and was actually given her exact date of birth. She was born on July 13; she is my birthday twin. And I felt it deeply within. Emrys would be her baby, and her name would be Raven.
When I walked into Juju’s room and she saw what I had, she began laughing and said, “Oh my god mom! She is so ugly!” But she took her to the bed, and immediately began to play with her.
Raven became obsessed with Juju’s belly from day one. She would paw at it, lick it, lay on it. It’s like she just knew that she had a very important job to do, and she was taking it seriously. No one could touch Juju’s belly; not even Juju. Yes, the baby was growing in Juju’s belly, but he was Raven’s baby. And as hyper as she was, when we brought Emrys home, she became this sweet, gentle protector. She would watch him, along with Isis, my 16-year-old chihuahua. And she made sure we knew when he was awake.
Raven was an amazing babysitter. And I know that she would have become Emrys’ bestie, had the medical professionals listened to us and done their jobs. Raven mourns him deeply, and protects the few things we kept with all the viciousness of a big dog. And though she lost her position as the BEST BABYSITTER EVER, she now has another very important job. Raven is now our Emotional Support Animal. We need her. She is our rock during our hardest days.
