Ellie Hristofilos --- Our unforgettable Ellie

by Hristofilos Family
(Philadelphia, PA)

Ellie,

Little did we know, 16 years ago, when a neighbor brought over a little blonde puppy with a pink nose that our lives would change forever. It was fate that Ellie was brought to us, as our neighbor, unsure of us wanting a dog, as we never owned one before, decided to stop by and show us this cute little puppy that needed a home. From that day, she never left our home or our hearts.

Ellie was amazing. No words can describe the joy, the love, the happiness that she brought into all of our lives. Only another pet owner can understand the depth of our love for our Ellie. She wanted to be with us every minute of the day, and we wanted to always be with our Ellie, thus changing our lives to be around our beloved Ellie.

Ellie's favorite pastime was her countless walks during the day. She saw the leash and it was over; jumping, running around with joy because she knew it was walk time. We would take her for walks 5 or more times a day and each time she would be just as excited, like she was on our first walk. On each walk, it was amazing how many people would stop us to comment on our beautiful Ellie and how friendly she was to all who met her.

Living in the city, she would sit with us on the stoop in front of the home, watching the world and people go by. We met so many people through our Ellie, people that we would have never met because they would stop to admire her, pet her, and comment on her gente loving demeanor. There was no person that was a stranger to our Ellie as she immediately became their friend. She loved all people and they sensed this. She was known as the queen of the block, miss Ellie.

Being Greek, in the spring and summer, morning and afternoon we would have our greek coffee with our neighbors. Ellie, of course, was the center of attention. She loved people and wanted to be part of everything. Sitting on the steps having our coffee as spring approaches, seems unbearable, because our Ellie will not be there. But than again everything is unbearable without our Ellie. It's been a month without our Ellie. As the time goes by, the pain only gets worse.

Knowing our Ellie is not there waiting for us by the front door, we dread opening the front door, knowing she's not there to greet us. Our home feels so empty and sad, it seems even the house is grieving.

Our Ellie passed away peacefully in her home on Jan 25, 2009 with all her family around her, holding her and telling her how much we love her. She didn't want to leave us. We saw it in her big brown loving eyes when she looked up at each one of us. She didn't want to go because she loved us so much and she knew how much we loved her. We will never get over losing our Ellie.

We love you Ellie.

The Hristofilos Family