Molly Lewis Mernit

1995 - December 28, 2008

These dogs, by the way, in a famous painting by Andrea da Firenze, are depicted as guarding the gates to heaven so that only the righteous may pass.  (Vicki Hearne)

She was one of those dogs - legendary in her own ever-widening circle of Those Who Love Molly people - the dog everyone wanted to hang with, pet and rub, talk to.  Soulful eyes with a centuries-old stare.  Pony-cantering over to meet you if excited, prone to rolling and wriggling on her back like some berserk many-limbed sea creature. 

Molly was all about the tribe.  If you were on the trail, she tended to be lead dog, but she'd periodically run back to make sure you were coming along; if you got up from a city gathering to go to the bathroom, she might shepherd you back and forth.

 When I met my wife to be, Molly initially terrified me.  Knowing nothing of the truth, I thought pit bulls were enraged and homicidal.  So I was all the more relieved, and then flummoxed, to see this gentle, sensitive, kindhearted babe of an animal decide I should be her boyfriend, too.  Suddenly I had a dog.  If Molly was over on Tater's side, she'd ask to be let out, walk around the back of the bungalow and come knocking on my door.  Once admitted, she'd trot right up and into her chair, an Eames-styled armchair and ottoman she'd claimed as hers on one of her first visits.  From there she surveyed the domain, and more often than not, simply stared at me adoringly. 

I was her dutiful bitch in no time.

Here is my wife on this Best Dog in the World, whom she lived with for eleven years and then an extra two sharing her with me:

Here’s what I know, in all my sadness right now: Four-leggeds come back. We figure Molly knew Bach, Maria Teresa, Einstein, Glenn Gould; we expect to know her again, for her soul to return in a fresh, sturdy body, ready to accompany our unsteady feet on our sunset hikes, to warm our tents and hog our beds and sleeping bags, and let us in on the great, musclehead secret of absolute love. Our furry friends' short lives test our willingness to love without attachment, which is, in the end, the only kind of love that matters. We always fail, we always grieve, and we always try again.
 
Molly, we have not begun to imagine life without you, even as we say goodbye. We will so miss you.

Comments

[Christina]

Ironically, I watched The Awful Truth the other night with my mother and the actor we were most impressed with was Asta. There is nothing like a dog. I'm so sorry you and Judith lost yours. I've known a few sweet pit bulls and they are as devoted as they are muscular.

[E.C. Henry]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your dog, Molly. You really sound like a loving owner. Sounds like her 13 years were filled with good things.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[binnie]

I am so sorry for your loss (there are few things harder), and for not getting to meet her. Such a face.

[Mike]

Ah, what a good friend you had in Molly!

[Caroline]

I agree with your good lady wife ... dogs are like angels here on earth, showing us what's really important and getting to the heart of it all. So sorry for your loss but I know that a spirit like Molly's is going on to great things.

[ScribeLA]

I am sorry to hear about your loss. Pets are a gift we never get to keep long enough, though it's true they are always with us, even when they pass away.

Cheers for a wonderful 2009...
-Scribe

[S.D in the 323]

Billy
I just stumbled on to your blog quite by accident on finally nice day here in L.A ( I should be outside or at least writing something). Pretty sure we met years back at Paramount I think when I was a youngster. (OK some studio in Burbank maybe)
So sorry for the loss of your pal.
Pets seem to be what people will never be: constant and forgiving.
I just spent two weeks watching a friend and his wife fawn over their dog while visiting. And their dog ate it up. Like a toddler, he ransacked our house, chased the cats and chewed on our couch. And I laughed. My wife didn't. Well, not much anyways.
You have many memories to live by and then when you two are ready, add a new family member and make more!
I think I can hear the hi jinx starting already!
Be cool.

[Anna from Sweden]

I am so sorry for your loss. Dogs are absolutely wonderful. Writing about it the way you both do, though, is a very good thing. I think that in painful moments, not being able to express your feelings must be the worst of all.

[Rachel Hauck]

So sorry to read about Molly! We lost a dog this year too and it's always sad. Missing them never ends.

What a lovely tribute to her.

Rachel

[wcdixon]

Sorry about your loss...thanks for another year of wonderful posts, and here's to a swell 2009!

[mernitman]

Missing Molly

We look everywhere for her, even as we’re trying not to
So the house and garden are filled with ghost dogs
The sound of her nails skittering on the wooden floor
Her face peering around the side of the walkway
A glimpse of paws outside the screen door
If I don’t turn my head, she’ll still be seated in her chair.

It’s peculiar, this wanting to be haunted
And with it, the strange fantasies:
If we can just get through this dark barbed tunnel of grief
We’ll get to see her again, won’t we?
Meanwhile, we look, and we look
But sweet Molly isn’t there.

It’s been days now, all the same day
You want it to get better but in a way you don’t
Something about the measure of respect
And you tell the stories of the significant moments
So it’s as if you’re explaining what was lost
Yet no one else can know that, which is painfully unfair.

It would take some fine instrument to illuminate the proofs
Her softest chest fur on the ends of our fingers
Imprint of her warm neck on my forehead
Shape of her broad back down the front of your pajamas
You’d have to open up the two of us to find the rest of her
But here she’d be, I’m sure of it:

Her laughing tongue and thousand-fathoms stare
And possibly more love than a human heart can bear.

(Written for Molly New Year's 12/31/08)

Christina: There IS nothing like a dog.

EC, she did have a good, marvel-filled life.

Binnie: SUCH a face...!

Mike: The best.

Caroline: She's back in the Great Dog Spirit, talking up what a cool time she had down here with us.

Scribe: Here and not, forever.

Thank you S.D. in the 323! "Constant and forgiving" nails it.

Anna, you're right: It felt so good to write about her! It still does, which is why I wrote a poem for her on New Year's Eve.

Thank you, Rachel Who Knows How It Feels. Here's to a happier 2009.

WC: Here's to you, sir.

[Judith Duncan]

So sorry for you loss Billy.Just looking into those eyes of Molly's show a big deep soul.

[Bill]

I love that car picture. I'm very sorry you've lost your Molly, and sorry I didn't comment earlier. I've been lost in the non-virtual world for a while now. For one thing, I have my own Molly (Molly Bloom, actually). As you will know, dogs can get uppity if you don't take them for walks.

I don't want to imagine what it would be like to lose my Molly. My sympathies are genuine because, as you say, there IS nothing like a dog, as my own Molly keeps reminding me. Perhaps, when the grieving stage passes, you might consider adding a new member to the household. God knows, there are lots that need good homes.

For what it's worth, me & my Molly:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piddleville/2836311462/

[mernitman]

Judith: Big old soul, yes.

Bill: Your Molly looks sweet! Yup, I'm sure we'll be giving our home over to another before long.

[Betsy]

Oh, I'm so sorry for both of you. She looks so sweet. This was a touching post.

[mernitman]

Thanks, Betsy -- we're healing.

[Dave]

Just catching up and read this Billy. So sorry to hear this. All the best mate.
cheers
Dave

[mernitman]

Thank you, Dave! The heartening news is, urged on by my loving wife, we've got an adorable puppy in our not-so distant future...

[Dave]

That's great news Billy.

I can see it now, I'm sorry Mr De Mille, my puppy ate my reader notes. I'll get that to you tomorrow first thing!

We expect photos of course. :)

Have fun Billy.
cheers
David.