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Olive Kitchen-Molsberry
Playmate, Companion, Teacher, Best Friend: Sept. 16, 1999-April 27, 2010
Even before we got to know her winning personality, Olive’s appearance alone made it clear she was going to be special dog right from the start.
In addition to the black-and-silver variety of the mini schnauzer breed being quite rare, it’s common for this striking coloring to completely fade to shades of grey in the first year. Not so with Olive who, much to her breeder’s delight, kept her distinctive jet black fur and silver markings all her life.
Besides her silky silver paws, muzzle, chest and underside of that cute little tail, Olive’s delightfully fuzzy silver eyebrows were the source of many amused comments in the dog park, as they gave her face great character and perfectly contrasted with her soft, soulful dark eyes.
These infamous eyebrows were coupled with a set of exceptionally expressive ears that were downright telegraphic. We lost count of how many positions she could put them in, each one communicating a very distinct meaning, including excited, quizzical, blissfully happy, curious, content or out-and-out mischievous. Our favourite quickly became her ‘airplane ears’ -- stuck straight out to the side Pippy Longstocking-style,
flapping gloriously in the breeze whenever she gleefully took off in a run.
Although her sweet temperament was typical of a mini-schnauzer -- outgoing, intelligent and extremely affectionate – Olive defied other terrier characteristics and marched to her own drum, living in perfect harmony with our two cats and a younger schnauzer, and most notably never chasing a single squirrel who crossed her path.
More than anything, she just wanted to do whatever her two Moms were doing, whether it was going for a jog along the Canal, puttering around the garden, nuzzling on the couch together or enjoying a jaunty stroll around the neighbourhood with her signature walking style of ‘step-step-hop’, due to a spinal condition remedied by monthly canine chiropractic adjustments.(Another indication of which species really ran the show
in our house!)
Exceptionally bright and well trained, Olive loved to perform for an adoring audience and was happy to work for Cheerios. In addition to being litter-trained while we lived in an apartment during her puppyhood, Olive could perform a range of tricks, like selecting specific toys from a pile, putting her paws together and bowing her head to ‘pray’, ringing a bell to let us know she wanted to go outside, or putting a paw on members
of the household by name when requested. Her specialty, however, was dramatically falling to her side and playing dead if we said “Bang!” and ‘shot’ her with a pointed finger.
Olive enjoyed a wide circle of canine companions, and especially relished play dates with other mini schnauzers, like her gentle step-sister Cleo and next-door best buddy Farley. She also made exceptions to the ‘all-schnauzer rule’ for Gala the Golden Retriever (pals since they were wee pups), Sadie the sassy Shih Tzu, and Bijou, the late feisty Bichon Frise from her St. Paul’s University park days.
This is not to say Olive did not have enemies – since puppyhood she was steadfast in her hatred of snow shovels (she remained convinced a stern barking would to keep them in line) and her ultimate nemesis: basketballs (they deserved a good nip if she could get close enough). In fact, in her zeal to protect the world from the scourge of large balls she once managed to pull out the plug on our fitness ball and got quite the surprise
when it subsequently went shooting around the room as it rapidly deflated!
Olive was well-known in the Glebe and Old Ottawa East circles both for her extensive multi-season wardrobe (colourful, weatherproof and fashionable!), as well as her various appearances in the local media as the ‘poster pooch’ fighting for off-leash dog rights in Patterson Creek Park. Most recently, the EMC Community Newspaper published a fetching photo and description of her as their ‘Pet of the Week’.
As our very first dog, Olive will forever hold a special place in our hearts. She was everything we’d ever hoped for in a canine companion, enriching our lives to a degree we never thought possible and forging a bond with us rivalling (if not surpassing) that achieved with our closest human friends.
Not a day nor a season will go by without us thinking of the unmitigated joy she brought us and missing her sweet, soulful eyes and exuberant approach to every activity. Regretfully, we will now have to rely on an actual alarm clock to wake us up instead of the familiar furry paw to the head and wiggling tail greeting us each morning to signal the start of another special day together.
Although we would trade anything for another minute with Olive, we are grateful we had 10 and a half exceptional years with this magical little being that transformed our lives, gave each day meaning, and helped us become a true family.
No one on the planet could have loved this dog more than we did, and she returned everything we ever gave her a hundredfold. Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge, we will always be grateful for having Olive in our life, and teaching us about the boundless love that is possible between a dog and her humans.
We are blessed to be able to keep her spirit alive by sharing these lessons with Olive’s three remaining canine and feline ‘siblings’, whose affectionate and concerned behaviour during Olive’s last hours at home made it clear they cared about her as much as we did.
Together we are slowly moving through mourning what we have lost and replacing it with celebrating what we were so fortunate to have. So thank you Olive: now Sit, Stay, and Rest – good girl.
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