Madison

Madison Livingston Winslow Watermelon Carnahan.
1999-2008
Beloved Dog, Comedian, and Friend.

This week, my beloved dog passed away. He will forever be featured, most idyllically, in memories such as Tye-Dye Day when we found out that dog tail is inherently resistant to Rit Dye, the day we needed to weigh his gargantuan mass for flight restrictions and when we jumped on the scale for one glorious moment prior to me dropping him 4 feet to the ground when my 17-year-old girl arms gave way. I will always laugh at the large quantities of food he stole, such as an entire block of cheese, dinner-party leftovers, and be ever-thankful for his cleaning up of my floor-dumped plate of seafood pasta that was entirely inedible to humans (sorry Amber). I will appreciate his batting at a ball like our cat Roger, and the time he tried to climb a tree with her and her kittens. And yes, I did say "Roger" and "her."

But most of all, I will continue to remember every exuberant memory of Cherry Hill with a big yellow dog riding around in the van, licking dishes and appalling dinner guests, sneaking bedtime snuggles with the cat in front of the fireplace, and that fateful day when he grew too big for the cat door, merely whimpering at us down the hall as to why we shrank his personal entrance.

Thank you Jesus for the privilege of stewarding the wonderful animals you have created. Thank you for giving them a soul that ministers to us - bringing joy, laughter, understanding and comedy.