Oct. 1988 —- July 3 2000
Cocker Spaniel
This is a story about our little Corky “Bear”.
Though “bear” was just a nickname she responded to it just as
much as “Corky”. Corky was my wife’s dog a present to her and her brother
when she was in high school. When I met Michelle for the first time,
I got to meet the bear. Little did I know I was being put to “the bear test”.
You see Corky didn’t like too many men trying to take her Michelle
away from her and could be down right jealous.
Well that first night while having dinner at her Mom’s house Corky hopped
up on the sofa with me and plopped her head on my lap.
I had convinced the bear that I was worthy enough to spend
time with Michelle.
Eventually we would move in together and get married.
I brought with me a Golden Retriever named Barney.
He was lonely because we had just had our 17 year old pointer
Mary Ann put to sleep. At first we were concerned about Corky and
Barney getting along. That lasted about 10 seconds.
These two became best friends…Barney the laid back big dog Corky the
feisty little fireball. To this day I credit Corky with bringing Barney’s spirits up.
Corky was already 5 years old when she became a part of my life.
At that time though you think they will last forever.
She loved to play ball lots of ball. We kept a healthy stock of tennis balls
around because she was notorious for placing a slobber-filled ball in
your hand. She wanted to play in the yard. She wanted to play in the house.
All day and all night it was ball. That is of course unless you were
cooking something in the kitchen.
The bear could smell food a mile a way and even though she rarely
got any scraps or “people” food it never deterred her attempts at begging.
Corky was also an expert at nursing you back to health when ever
you were sick. I remember lying on the couch with the flu and the bear
refused to leave my side. She loved to cuddle when you watched TV
and just had to be on the bed by your feet at night.
In addition she was like clockwork in the mornings getting up and
heading out with Michelle Barney and I for a walk.
Sometime in mid-June 2000 Corky’s breathing became labored and quick.
We took her to the vet and she said it could be either heart or lung disease
but she wasn’t sure because there was so much fluid around her
heart and lungs X-rays were unreadable.
So she put her on some medication and hoped to get a better x-ray in a week.
We took Corky home and prepared for a life of “TLC” and medicine.
After all with today’s medications dogs are able for the most part,
to live normal lives. Well we were wrong. After 5 days of nice progress,
Corky’s breathing became uncontrollable.
This happened at a family gathering on a Sunday night barely 24 hours
before her next vet appointment. Michelle and I spent the entire night up
with Corky as she struggled to breathe. It was awful.
We rushed her to the vet early Monday morning and they put her on oxygen
which settled her down. Then we went home as they needed to keep her
there for the entire day. I now recall the assistant picking her up and
seeing the bear wiggle her little bottom at Michelle and me.
This was her “good-bye”. 3 hours later my wife got a call from the vet saying
that Corky had gone into cardiac arrest.
She had to decide if she wanted them to keep her alive or let her go.
My wife decided it was time for our little bear to stop suffering
and go to Heaven.
It has been nearly a week and we are getting better but still struggling.
I look around the house and there are so many spots the bear used to lay in.
Barney is now aware that his little friend is not coming home.
This is his 2nd bout with losing a companion and he is very lonely.
Michelle has lost her little “baby”. We will be fine though.
We have a great dog in Barney and soon we’ll have kids and more dogs.
I cannot express enough how fun the last 7 years have been to have
Corky in my life. She lived to be almost 12 very lucky for cockers.
With that in mind we really feel blessed. We know that Corky is up in Heaven
playing lots of ball and having a fun pain-free existence.
We miss her dearly and she will never be forgotten.
Some day a long time from now all four of us Corky Barney Michelle
and myself will all be together again.
For now we must carry on her spirit and try to give
as much love to others as she did.
She wouldn’t want it any other way.
Dan & Michelle
| Corky |