the Black Female Librarian

On July 18, 2009, I brought her home. At 8 weeks old, she was small but feisty. I met her at a home in Dundalk, MD, barking and snapping at the other dogs in the litter. She was the only girl. she was beautiful, with her grey eyes and short brown coat. I fell in love with her immediately.

She always looked like a puppy, from the day we met to the day she died. The cartilage in her ears never formed properly, so her pointy ears drooped.

I lost my friend yesterday. She was almost 15. My friend called her a human dog, which fit her personality because she always loved people, and everyone loved her. She wasn’t a fan of getting her nails clipped. She didn’t like big dogs and she didn’t like to be alone. She wanted your love and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. She was never a great guard dog 🐕.  I miss her. 😢

When she wanted to play, she would bring you her toy and place it on your leg. She was not perfect, but the teacher in me researched ways to train her to be pretty close to perfection. When she started to chew on the walls, I bought more toys. When she would put random items in her mouth during walks, research taught me the “leave it” command. When her barking became uncontrollable, I taught her how to only bark when she was trying to communicate something to me.

She loved her cousins Kenya, Victoria, Kamille, Brittany and Evan, her Auntie Val, Uncle Mon, her grandparents, and her dog cousin Bruce. They miss her already. She spent her last 14 summers in Jersey with them. My close friends are feeling this loss. Many of them were her dog sitters.

I know my dad misses her the most. She was his buddy. My mom would get mad at him after finding treats in his pocket while sorting and washing clothes. She was his shadow.

I noticed in the last three weeks she became mine. She needed my love and didn’t leave my side. Almost two weeks ago, I came down with Covid and had to stay home for work. Look at how God worked that out for me and Carrie. I spent 5 consecutive days with her a week before her death. God allow me to spend SO MUCH unexpected time with her right before her passing. My friend Andrea told me that Carrie was on his mind, and he has her with him right now.

As I begin my blogging journey, I will have to do it without her, but she will always be my inspiration. Her kindness, strength, and perseverance were unmatched, and she will be missed. I dedicate this post to you, Carrie.

Carrie Etta (Bradshaw Washington) Lawrence

May 18, 2009-March 11, 2024

Heartbeat at My Feet

Fifteen years of paws, a heartbeat at my feet,
A faithful companion, my days were complete.
A heart so grand, yet fragile in its beat,
With every wag, love and life would meet.
But time, unforgiving, with its silent decree,
Whispered of a moment, when you’d be free.
Now you run in realms where the grass is ever green,
No shadow of ailment, just peace serene.
So rest now, dear friend, your memory I’ll cherish,
In the love that you gave, you will never perish.
For each paw print you left, is etched within my heart,
A story of love, and the day it departs.