on May 5th our dog of 15 years, Georgia, had to be put down.

we got her in January of 2010 from Petland while she was just a four month old puppy. our mom was on a girl’s trip to New York City with her Swedish friends, and as any bored group of kids with their dad does, we naturally leaped at the chance to go look at puppies. seeing Georgia in the window of her pin was the first time i ever experienced love at first sight. not only was she was absolutely adorable but she held her own with being the runt of the litter, and was even a bit stoic in nature. Georgia had a brother there that we named “Moo,” but with her vibrant personality, only ended up going home with one.

Georgia was a maltese-shitzu blend that hailed from the great state of Arkansas and was the CUTEST THING EVER.

Georgia simply wasn’t meant to live an uncomfortable life, and from the start she was very food motivated. mealtime was always accompanied by hearing the pitter patter of her paws making their way to wherever the scent of food was coming from, where she would then make her rounds to each member of the family begging for any scraps she could get through eye contact of steel and stretching routines.

her favorite foods included my mom’s homemade Swedish saffron buns, sourdough with butter, bone broth, Pub Subs — really anything other than dog food. she was a pampered pooch.

she was there for everything — all of the different phases we went through growing up, the ups and downs, graduations, and even got to witness the aftermath of all of our 21st birthdays.

over the years she accrued many nicknames. “Georgia” slowly morphed into “George,” then “Gigi George,” “Titiboo,” “Tootle Goodle,” “Pota,” “Posh Lady,” “Miss Bug,” and towards the later years of her life as she morphed into her status of being a crusty white rat dog, “Googoo.” We only really called her Georgia when she was acting a fool.

i will always remember getting to see her as the reward for spending hours grinding away at school. the moment i slammed the door shut to my car i would surely see her little head pop into view in one of our living room windows, where she would then follow me from inside until i reached the front door, to then ambush me with leaps and kisses when it was opened. and it wasn’t just her excitement that she impressed upon me, but she had a great intuition and could always sense when one of us was feeling down. the most natural response she could think of in these moments was to follow us and willingly allow us to pet her, and we couldn’t refuse that offer since most of the time she acted more like a cat than a dog. those were Dr.’s orders i guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯!

Georgia got to be an honorary Georgia Tech ADPi for a weekend while my parents were moving my brother into college during my senior year. she stayed with me and my four roommates in our apartment during sorority recruitment, and got to meet so many of my friends (Fijis pictured above). our apartment had an incredible view of Atlanta, and it cracked me up to experience her bewilderment towards seeing the skyline for the first time. she couldn’t stop barking at the buildings lit up at night when i let her onto my bed. Georgia also loved the excitement that came with getting to walk around campus. she was truly a social butterfly and adventurer at heart.

she had a personality like no other. Georgia was the queen of giving side eye and the most “Libra” Libra i’ve ever seen. she taught me many lessons, one of the most important being to not get in her face when she wasn’t in the mood unless you wanted to get bit, and that it’s okay to show lots of excitement when you see the people you love (or new people you get to meet!). she was spunky, unabashedly herself, and towards the last years of her life, extra sweet and cuddly.

her favorite daytime hobby was taking naps, and if we were ever looking for her, you knew to look in a spot with lots of sunshine. she also loved chewing on socks, keeping patrol of our house by pacing around the living room, walking on a busy street so she could bark at cars, as well as scratching on our bedroom doors whenever there was a storm. my siblings and i got to say goodbye to her one last time the night before she went to doggy Heaven via FaceTime. none of us live in Atlanta anymore, so it was heartbreaking not to be able to see her in person before it happened. my brother played his guitar and we talked about our favorite memories with her while growing up. for me, her passing feels like the event that’s sealed the door shut to childhood. i’ve been on my own for about two years now, and with her no longer here, it’s fully set in that there’s no going back.

Georgia was the best dog we could ever ask for, and just like we oftentimes say whenever a human passes, there will never be another one like her. i miss her each day, but am so grateful that we got to have her as our pet for well over a decade. thank you for all of the love and constant entertainment that you provided us throughout the years Miss Titiboo <3.

we will meet again, but until then, Georgia will always be on my mind.

💘, HANNA