July | 2015 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

Dr. Mulnix, image from http://mulnixanimalclinic.com/

Yesterday was a sad day. We found out that Dr. Mulnix, our favorite vet, had passed away. He had just announced at the beginning of the summer that he was retiring, and there were plans for an open house and reception in his honor. I was so sad he wouldn’t be treating our dogs anymore, but happy that he’d get to relax a bit — he worked so hard. But now he’s gone. I was surprised by how sad it made me. I burst into tears when I saw the post on Facebook. For the rest of the day, I couldn’t really get it together.

He’s been treating our dogs for 14 years. He calmed us when Obi was so sick the very first weekend he lived with us, our first nervous moments as dog owners. He was the one seven years later who had to tell me Obi had cancer and it was incurable. He most likely saved Sam’s life by identifying and treating something no one else could figure out. Even though we see four different vets at the clinic, he was the first vet we saw each time there was a new puppy. We loved taking our mixed breed dogs to him because the rescues were never really sure, but with all his years of experience, all the thousands of dogs he’d seen, Dr. Mulnix always could guess their mix. He was willing to entertain the silliest questions, to spend time with us over the smallest concerns. He was so patient and kind, and super smart. We trusted him with that which is most precious to us. And now he’s gone.
In an attempt to hit the reset button today, in the early morning before it got too hot, I took a long walk with Eric and the dogs, and then did yoga on the back patio listening to my favorite playlist to practice for the class I’m teaching tomorrow morning. When I finish this post, I’ll take a shower and have a bowl of peach pie oatmeal. I feel grateful for how green it still is even though it’s mid July, for my tiny family, for all the care and kindness Dr. Mulnix showed all four of my dogs and their humans, for the good human he was — all the while hoping that when I go, I will be as fondly remembered, as genuinely missed.

1. We made our reservations for the beach next summer. Six weeks. I feel so grateful that we can pay for such a thing, that we can take the dogs with us, that we have such a good and trustworthy friend who comes and lives in our house while we are gone, that because he’s here we can be go away for that long but still have a garden when we come back.

2. Good food. Fresh pesto made with basil from our garden, a berry pie Eric made, a yummy salad I made with the purple carrots I like so much, and homemade bran muffins with fruit for breakfast. I’m also on my way later to Garden Sweet (our local small farm that keeps a little stand out front) because the rumor is they have Palisade peaches.

3. Our front garden. Mostly this week, as it turns into a food and flower bearing jungle, I’m grateful that we live somewhere that such a thing isn’t just allowed but appreciated. A guy came over the other day to give us a bid on finally refinishing our hardwood floors, and as he was leaving he told Eric, “just let me know when I can come back and pick those tomatoes.”

4. My dogs. As much as I miss Obi and Dexter, want them back, and call Sam and Ringo by their names sometimes because I think of them so much, I’m happy to have these two boys.

5. Play dates. They are good for the dogs and for me. We have really good friends.

Ringo and Pancho, who played so hard they also lounged.

Bonus joy: being offered a regular yoga class (Tuesdays at 7 am at Om Ananda starting fall season), teaching yoga to some of my favorite students, signing up for Andrea’s Superhero E-Course Bootcamp (my hope is to come up with a course to offer in the fall or at the start of the new year), really good TV (Moone Boy, Miranda, Hjørdis, Rita, and the documentary Tig), podcasts (some of my current favorites are Mortified and You Made it Weird), pie season, how green everything still is in Colorado in July, being able to email my doctor instead of pay for an office visit, a new roof getting put on Monday, sleep.