Well, in all fairness, not for just one shoe, but for a pair of them, which came to their earthly demise Saturday around noon, after more than two years of continued, uninterrupted, glorious service. I’m talking about these Merrell slip-ons:

Brown suede, lined in pink floral canvas, with the cutest assymetrical toe-cap:

Reminded me of something from The Jetsons, retro-futuro-chic, but sturdy, dependable, with a reinforced rubber sole that made them a pleasure to walk in, and arch-support galore.

Why, then, would such sturdy, excellent walking shoes meet such an abrupt and rather sudden end?

Because they were my almost-exclusive dog-park shoes, and I used them every single day without fail for a little over two years to walk my dog to and from the park, about a mile. While there, I would stand around for anything between 30 minutes to an hour in dust, gravel, and other numerous natural or dog-made afflictions, while my doggy raised hell. Kinda like this:

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I have the world’s cutest miniature bull-terrier? No? Well, I do.

In the process, my supposedly impervious Merrells developed a hole in the right sole, on the outer edge of the heel (hey, didn’t Balzac claim to be able to tell everything about a person’s character by the wear pattern on his/her shoes? According to this particular wear pattern, I’m supposed to be pretty outgoing, or something). The lining deteriorated steadily, as I had to shake out the occasional loose pebbles. The suede and cute print toe-cap lost their luster and cuteness, and started to match my dog’s hair after a particularly rowdy romp in the dust. They were slowly and quietly…slipping away from me.

They went out with a bang, though. Last time I used them, this past Saturday, I volunteered for the dog park semi-annual cleanup. They put up a good fight, but nothing can really withstand the vicissitudes of shoveling gravel for 2 hours straight in 90-some degree temperatures. My back surely didnt (ouch! still hurts!). And the Merrells definitively developed the second hole in the left sole (where the rubber was already precariously thin).

Clearly, it’s time to let go. Today is garbage collection day, and so they will meet, unceremoniously, their undignified final resting place. They were good shoes, and truly fulfilled their purpose. I couldn’t have asked more of them. Every morning I put them on, my mini-bull-terrier would be besides himself with joy, for he knew we were going out. I bet he’s going to be disoriented from now on!

In all honesty, no shoes should be worn two days in a row–the purpose of having more pairs is to be able to rotate them, let them rest, and thus contribute to their well deserved longevity. I never gave my Merrells that chance–they were just too perfect for the job I got them for. I’m generally not sentimental about objects (they’re just…inanimate objects, you know?) but these, I know I’ll miss. Plus it’s a discontinued model–of course, so I can’t easily replace them.

Well, after an appropriate period of shoe mourning (a week? an afternoon? an hour? you tell me, then!), it’s going to be time to shop for another sturdy, semi-indestructible model. Any suggestions?