Dog Hair and Crumbs

My family lost our Labrador Retriever late last year, exactly three months ago today.

Khali was an incredible dog. 

We got her when she was just a few months old, and she was the friendliest dog you could imagine. (This was a big reason we chose her: my wife and I had never had a dog before, and we needed one that wouldn't pose a threat to our kids, who were then two and four years old.) 

Khali would never bite, not even playfully, and never jump up on you unless you asked her to do so (after which, she would happily comply). 

She never chewed on any of our shoes or furniture. She wouldn't touch anything that wasn't hers, including our children's toys or plates of food left right in front of her, unless we explicitly gave it to her. 

When she heard me get home, she'd stop whatever she was doing and run to the door to greet me; my four children stopped doing that a long time ago.

Khali was a very good dog. In most ways, she was a perfect dog, and we miss her very much.

But boy-oh-boy did she shed! 

No matter how much we tried or how often we swept, it seemed our floors were constantly covered in dog hair. Canine tumbleweeds balled up in every corner. It was a constant mess!

Eventually, during an Amazon sale when devices were heavily discounted, we bought a robot vacuum, figuring it would help with the hair. (We named it "Vector the Vaccuum." Yes, we name our devices; it makes turning them on via digital assistants much easier.)

And it did help with the hair... but I had to empty Vector's dust bin several times each cleaning cycle so that it could continue doing its work. SO MUCH HAIR!

When Khali died, our family felt the loss. Saying goodbye to her was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.

As it happens, one of the ways I cope with loss is via humour. Including dark humour. At one point, I thought to myself, "I miss my dog. But I sure don't miss all her hair everywhere!"

The next time I emptied Vector's dust bin, it was still full of her hair; the "last clean up", if you will.

But I noticed something interesting the time after that.

Vector's dust bin wasn't full of dog hair...

... but it was very full of food crumbs.

You see, while Khali was with us, we would rarely have any food crumbs on the floor: she'd sniff out any food we might have dropped and clean it up faster and more efficiently than Vector ever could.

With Khali gone, we didn't eliminate the "dirty floor" problem.

We simply traded dog hair for crumbs.

No dog, no dog hair... but also, no dog to love.

In life, it's unlikely you'll ever be problem-free. Even if one problem goes away, another usually emerges to take its place.

So you can spend time worrying about the dog hair that's everywhere, or be grateful for the reason the hair is there in the first place.

I know what I'm going to try to do more of moving forward.

Thank you for everything, Khali. 

You were a very good dog.

Khaleesi "Khali" Pullara. March 6, 2014 - October 8, 2025.

P.S. This post serves as my memorial to Khali. It took me a few months before I could write it.