Mydogisme….I’m so sorry to hear of your great loss. It is never easy to lose a beloved family member. And family members they are, not “just dogs or cats”. I recently lost the most special girl, Stella, a blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was the light of my life and the beginning of my love affair with the breed. Stella came to me after she retired a show champion. She was 5 years old when she came to me and 12 when she passed to the bridge this past January 13th. Stella was a real beauty! She was a certified therapy dog and we visited nursing homes together and did library reading programs for 5 years, until I retired her in 2010. She was starting her illness then, I believe. Stella had a neurological disease Cavaliers get called Syringomyelia. I eventually had to put her to sleep and she passed in my arms. It was one of the hardest times of my life. So I do understand what you’re going through. Please know my thoughts are with you at this time.
In 2011 I also lost a best friend. He was a ragamuffin of a dog lol. Sometimes I couldn’t believe we actually paid money to get him, but I always felt we “rescued” him from a backyard breeder. He was a mixed breed, of course, but he was a Shih-Poo. He looked every bit the Poodle and was as smart as a full-blooded one. He also had lots of issues. Health and behaviorwise. Desi was his name and he was my boy! He was so bonded with me that he would actually guard me from my family! He loved, loved his toys and always had one in his mouth lol. I feel Desi went undiagnosed with a thyroid issue for some years and when he finally passed to the bridge, he was the reason I finally switched to a holistic vet. I miss him, but I will say not all his behavior problems. I worked with him, but he really was a difficult dog in many ways. Though, he sure did love me and I loved him! Laverne came to live with me a month after Desi passed away…..I say he sent her to me…she does have some of his quirks, though definitely not in the same way hahaha. He would have loved her! He did love all the Cavalier girls, he thought of them as his “women” I believe hahahaha! Ah..still miss him!
