You were the pup who was hiding at the back of the kennel while all your brothers and sisters were being inquisitive. You were the pup that all the books and experts tell us to avoid like the plague - all I can say is thank god we were so naive back then! I was 13 when you came home and we were soon inseperable. The song "Me & My Shadow" could have been written about us two. You used to sleep on my bed every night and at 3.30 every afternoon, you would position yourself at the front door waiting for me to return home from school. You loved going to collect the mail and the evening paper as you knew you would get a treat. All we had to say was "Go get letters" and you would tear up the hall to collect them. You only got a treat once you had brought all the letters, so you came up with a bright idea. You would bring in a few and then come back with none to make us think you had them all so you got your treat. Then you would go back out and pick up the rest
I had to admire your nerve - you didn't get called my cheeky little monkey for nothing
I remember about 4 or 5 years ago on Christmas morning. We had just got up and gone downstairs. You looked out the window and saw the snow that had fallen during the night. You loved the snow - your eyes positively lit up and you were practically doing somersaults. Very impressive for a chubby arthritic cocker
I didn't even get a chance to open my pressies - I got dressed and took you over the park where you divebombed all over the place! We had so much fun together over the years and I couldn't ever imagine a time when you wouldn't be here with me. Over the past year you did slow down a little bit but you were still full of life. Back in May, you developed lesions around your mouth and your nose was all flakey. The vets just thought it was a bad mouth infection but antibiotics didn't clear it up. You stopped eating your dried food but wolfed it down when I mushed it up with warm water. You were given fluids and quickly put under in case it was a bad tooth or a tumour in your mouth that was causing the problems. Nothing was found and blood results showed that you had mild hepatitis. You were put on a cocktail of drugs and a special diet but you were never the same after the anaesthetic. You just deteriorated and a week later you were badly jaundiced. You were placed on a drip for four days - I always said that if you ever needed to be hospitalised, I would stay with you at night so you were never on your own but I knew you would become more stressed when I had to leave so I didn't see you. You became so depressed that I took you home at nights and took you back first thing in the morning to be reattached to your drip. Your blood was taken again to monitor your levels but they hadn't come down very much despite the fluids and the medication. But still the vet insisted we keep trying but 2 days later, I knew I had to let you go. It was a Sunday morning and I had nipped in to the shop to get the papers. I came out and you had been sick in the car. I looked at you and your nose had a yellow tinge to it again. I drove home with tears streaming down my face and phoned the emergency vet. We took you down and I'll never know where I got the strength from to see me through. I always worried that when the day came, I wouldn't be strong enough to stay with you - thats why I always told you that you had to go in your sleep! But nothing in the world would have stopped me being there with you - the vet struggled to find a vein beacuse of where your drip lines had been. When she eventually inserted the needle, I wanted to tell her to stop but the words just wouldn't come out. You passed away quickly and peacefully with me holding you. I took you back to work and me and the boys just sat with you for hours. When I went home, I just fell apart. I just cried so much that it physically hurt and I've cried every day for you since. I look forward to the time when I can remember you with a smile and no tears.
Hope you are being nice to the other doggies and I'll see you at the bridge sweetheart
