Tully Tuesday’s Volume 29, Goodbye Payton

I’ll share picks and results at the bottom of this newsletter, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about something very important to my family and I.

This past week our family lost our Dog Payton after having spent 13 and a half amazing years together. To have known Payton is to have loved her, and she genuinely was my best friend through high school and college. Payton knew no wrong in our household and wouldn’t bite my brother even after a decade of him egging her on to fight him. She knew love and only love, and our home will always have an empty part to it because of Payton.

Payton was named after Walter Payton and while she did not have the quick footing and demonstrative power the famous Running Back had, it was a fitting name, as she was “Sweetness” in its purest form.

I would take Payton down to the beach in Maine and throw the ball, only to have her retrieve it once and bring it back before finding a comfortable place to watch me throw the next one, knowing she had no interest in chasing it. Payton spent many late nights in the PlayStation room in our house watching Trent or I win a Super Bowl or Stanley cup from the comfort of her chair, one of which she stole from my father where he would watch games. It was the only furniture she was allowed on and the only furniture she ever laid on.

We never had dogs when we were younger kids, my mom didn’t grow up with one and didn’t have the time to add that to her long list of responsibilities. My sister had grown up terrified of dogs and once she got to high school, my mother made the very selfless decision of letting us bring home our first golden, Annabelle. Annabelle lived only 2 short years before getting sick and ultimately passing on.

We had never known hurt like that before, and it would have been more than understood that my parents, and my mom in particular didn’t want to take that on again. But we didn’t have to ask or beg, soon we had another puppy to go see, and once we did, we knew we found Payton.

From Day 1 she was different, no accidents inside the house, no panic when a new friend came over to say hi, no barking when she was bored or wanted attention. Just love, just belly rubs, just Payton.

I thought this week about how lucky we were to have her for almost 14 years, and that love and happiness brought to our family throughout her life, and how it was my Mom that decided we needed to bring another dog home after our heartbreak with Annabelle.

When you’re a kid you don’t have the brain capacity to think about your parents sacrifices. I was extremely fortunate to not have the slightest idea of the sacrifices my parents made when I was younger, there was never a complaint, never an argument, it was always my parents doing everything they could to make sure we had the love and the care we needed. Payton was the embodiment of that love, and as she grew older, and we all moved out she formed a bond with the two of them that hopefully repaid them with the Thank You’s they’d never let us say.

That’s what dogs are, they’re the reflection of your family, a reminder of the spirit that your parents and family work hard to form and sustain. So, while Payton has passed on to sandier beaches, warmer sun lit patios, and endless under handed bites of cheese, the spirit she left our family with will continue, and will be shared as we continue to grow our families.

To Payton, thank you for the love and for always showing up for us when we needed something to smile about, even at the end. I will always remember you in the front yard in Maine, laying in the sun, and rolling in the mulch.

If you’re fortunate enough to be with your pup for that extra walk, the extra belly rub, the extra Cheeze It you can slide down to them, take every advantage you can, they’re all bonus love. Soak it in.

Til Next week

TT

RESULTS AND PICKS

Updated Records, picks solely on vibes

College: 4-2

Dog of the Week: 2-0

NFL: 2-1

I’m going to move the picks to a weekly Thursday Column, so be on the lookout for Week 2 of NFL and Week 3 college blog on Thursday at lunch time.