Maya, The Dalmatian Sensation

by Andrea Kustin-Mager
(Laguna Beach, California USA)

Maya The Dalmatian Sensation
May 1, 1998 - March 29, 2008

Maya was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. Maya "adopted" my Mom and Sister as she strayed onto their porch. She belonged to a neighbor who really didn't take good care of her. Maya just kept showing up at Mom and Sis' house. They weren't really ready to adopt a dog, so my husband and I told them that we would share with her expenses, dog walking, vet bills, food and love. Fortunately, my husband and I live 5 minutes away.

Maya was a bright star in our lives. She was the ultimate smile evoker and a crowd stopper.

I taught high school Spanish for 33 years, and when I wrote worksheets and tests, I included the name Maya on them. My students loved doing the Maya questions. Toward the end of a few school years, my Mom would drive Maya to my classroom. I taught Maya how to "sit, shake, other paw and down" in Spanish. My students loved it.

On the day I retired, my students drew pictures of Maya on my whiteboard. Coming from teenagers, that was amazing.

Maya died unexpectedly, in good health, of a heart attack, while running toward a "cookie".
What makes missing her even worse is that 3 weeks after Maya died, our Mom was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer. She died within a year. I also wrote about Mom on this site.

As I had said about my Mom, my heart is full of gratitude that Maya graced our lives.