Brinkley

Reagan

Brinkley Reagan

February 25, 2012 - October 28, 2026

On October 28th, in true Italian Greyhound fashion, you sprinted across the Rainbow Bridge

and into the loving arms of your Papaw. Oh what a reunion that must have been. I can picture

your tail wagging a hundred miles an hour while you gave your Papaw gentle kisses…and then

proceeded to rummage through his pockets to see what treat he might have stashed there for

you. I imagine your next order of business was to get one of Papaw’s special back scratches. I

know that my back scratches were never quite on par with his. I like to think that perhaps you

paused a moment before your final dash to take one last glance back at those of us who were

left behind to miss you. There are many.

Where did the time go? Fourteen years seem to have gone by in the blink of an eye. It seems

like only yesterday that I was bringing you home for the first time. Little did I know how that one

moment was going to change my life. Your energy was boundless. No stuffie was safe. Those

sharp baby teeth made short work out of even the toughest ballistic dog toys. Then there were

the zoomies. Not just any zoomies, they were Iggy zoomies. The ones where you just have to

close your eyes and pray that you don’t break a leg kind of zoomies. After several weeks of

intense worry and borderline exhaustion I found a lifeline in the form of an online forum called

Iggy Planet. There I found a community of Italian Greyhound pet parents who were willing to

share their sage advice. With their help we made it through the puppy years and also made

some treasured friendships along the way.

In time, you grew into my sweet, beautiful boy. How you loved to go for a ride in the car,

especially if a pup cup was on the itinerary. We went on some grand adventures together, like

the time we took Papaw on a trip all the way around the panhandle of Florida, or the many trips

that we took with Auntie Sandra and Samuel to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. What

precious memories we made. You were my travel buddy. We didn’t take vacations, we took

“dogcations.” I was looking forward to many more.

What I treasure most, however, are the quiet moments that we had at home. The snuggles, the

gentle nudges asking for just a few more pets, and our games of tricks for treats are just a few

of my fondest memories. The way that you would look away when we played “leave it” with a

treat followed by the intense way you listened when I would try to trick you by saying random

words that began with the letter “T” until I said the magic words “Take it” was priceless. It’s a

thousand little things that made you my special boy. I will treasure each and every one of them.

Brinkley, you were the center of my world, my gravity. We celebrated so many firsts together,

now I’m left to celebrate all of the firsts I will have without you. While I feel so incredibly sad to

have had to say goodbye, I also feel incredibly blessed to have had you as my friend, my family,

my constant companion and my heart for over 14 years. You brought love, laughter and joy to

our family. We will meet again one day. Until then, you keep Papaw company and say hi to

Arlie, Niko and our many friends and family that are waiting for us just beyond the Rainbow

Bridge.

Love,

Momma, Nanna, Sandra, Christian and Samuel.