Mellie, our little terrier, died yesterday.
Though we’ve yet to see what kind of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be, it’s safe to say he is a man full of surprises. Back in 2011, the member for Wentworth penned this poignant eulogy for his family dog Mellie: a terrier, blogger, political ally, occasional escapist and friend.
It’s so beautiful we thought we’d share it with you again.
PM Malcolm Turnbull writes…
Mellie, our little terrier, died yesterday. She was nearly eleven and had been very sick for the last few months. Her heart was giving out and when we went for a walk we would carry her most of the way.
We thought she might leave us on Saturday, but I think in her funny, doggy way she knew that it was an important day – an engagement party for our son Alex and his fiancée Yvonne – a celebration of love. She loved us all too much to die that night. So she hung on until Sunday.
Mellie and her sister JoJo joined our family early in 2001. They were Maltese/Sydney Silky crosses, Mellie looked very Maltese and JoJo very much the Sydney silky.
She was called Imelda because, as a tiny puppy, she liked to climb into shoes but it quickly became Mellie.
Nine other things you didn’t know about Malcolm Turnbull.
When JoJo and Mellie came to live with us we had an old beloved red cattle dog, Rusty, who was ten and had started to become pretty sleepy – a nasty experience with a tick hadn’t helped. The arrival of the little dogs brightened him up and for next five or six years he was almost as lively as them.
Dogs are pack animals and they regard their humans as part of their pack. In our family Mellie was always most concerned that the pack stay together. If we were going for a walk and one of us was a little slow in getting out the door, Mellie would rush back in and round you up. If one of us fell behind on a walk –anything more than five or six metres – she would stop until you caught up or rush back to get you. There was not the slightest biological evidence for this, but I often wondered whether she had been a border collie in a previous life.
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I lost a puppy at 3 months old when he slipped into a pool on a cold winters day and was unable to get out. The guilt and overwhelming grief I suffered from his passing was something I don't wish to experience again, and I often wondered why I shed so many tears over a small dog, when people cry less over the death of a person. I have other dogs, who are much older, so I have experienced the unconditioning love that they provide, the pure joy they display when you come home from work or give them a treat. I was so sad that my beautiful little puppy would never grow and that he left the world in such a traumatic way.
A family memeber sent me a poem which provided a great deal of comfort, and still brings tears to my eyes when I read it. I am sure every dog lover can relate.....
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Absolutely bawling!! So gorgeous x
This made me cry. I treasure my pets and the thought of losing them breaks my heart. Well said Malcolm.