Chiquita

Chiquita, Chix, Chiquita Banana, the Banana she answered to them all until 3/07/26 at 11:45am when she went over the Rainbow Bridge.

Fifteen years after she first came home to me in Buffalo, NY, looking like a miniature pit bull puppy; still on formula and needing her tooshie wiped to go potty. She was spunky, inquisitive and too cute for her own good! I was scared I would lose this tiny being in the house because she was so small, fitting in the palm of my hand.

Three years in Buffalo, two years in Redwood City and the last ten in Rio Vista. She adapted no matter where she was. In Buffalo, she didn’t like getting her paws cold in the snow. She loved to lie on top of the couch and watch out the window in the sunlight. When Cousin Norris had a plate of chicken wings sitting on the coffee table, she deftly snuck one off the plate and she wasn’t about to give it back. She growled, acting like a big dog, but she was no match for Norris.

She was well traveled. We drove from Buffalo to Redwood City in March of 2013. It snowed in Nebraska and we got stuck over night, but she was okay with it curled up on the hotel pillow during the day in the sunlight. Finally arrived in Redwood City a week behind schedule because the car had broken down in Nebraska.

She met new friends, all the grandkids and loved to play! We took walks, and she got us in trouble. She had her territory and if you were too close to it, she would bark. You could throw a soda can full of nails to startle her, and she stopped for a split second to sniff it and then went back to barking.

In August of 2015 we moved to Rio Vista, our final move. She loved going for walks on a “sniffari” sniffing everything there was to smell. There are no sidewalks so she would walk along the top of the curbing. Chiquita loved visitors because they brought new smells and I think she had her favorite folks.

Late last summer Chiquita started having some issues with life. She couldn’t jump as high and couldn’t always get on the bed. The walks were shorter, and she would walk in circles in the house. The vet said she was having “cognitive decline” and arthritis in her lower back and hips. A few weeks ago, she just wasn’t the same happy dog she had always been. I woke up every time she moved at night and checked on her.

Chiquita had a wonderful day on March 6th. She was eating, relaxing and seemed almost like herself. I think she knew she was going to be set free from the pain soon. The next day she met Dr. Ashley who was so gentle with her. We went and sat in our chair and with her on my lap stroking that white stripe of fur, she went over the Rainbow Bridge.

The house is so quiet, and the bubbly energy is gone. She took a piece of my heart with her, and I miss her more than words can even explain. Till we meet again at the gates of the Rainbow Bridge, play in the sunshine my little Banana and know that you are still loved and missed so much.

-Robie W.