Archibald Hermiston Dullea

My Archie was a rescue from a family that just didn’t want him. They kept him in the the garage, crated, during February. It was very cold.  I drove over 200 miles to pick him up.  When I got there, the woman was holding him.  As she opened the door, he pushed off of her and leapt into my arms. I tried to put him down to see how he would act but he wasn’t having any of it.  He didn’t let me put him down until we were in the car. I was never alone again.  He was the best dog I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned quite a few.  He knew how I was feeling, he was my companion, my confidant, my everything.  He went everywhere with me even on the back of my Harley motorcycle.  He loved it.  Going to the park, a walk, the beach, long trip short trip didn’t matter, as long as he was with me.  He became my assistant at work.  I was a nurse.  He’d come with me and comfort them as well.  He got me in the door with some pretty stubborn folks.  He was good to everyone but especially to me.  About 3 yrs ago, he developed a sinus infection. He’d have it, I’d treat it, it would go away and come back again about every 3 months or so.  His nickname became “booger boy” but I still loved him.  He otherwise enjoyed good health until about a week or so before he passed.  He wasn’t acting himself so I took him to the vet.  His previously mild heart murmur was now a grade 4 and he needed medication.  He stopped eating and drinking.  Getting meds in him wasn’t working.  His gums were gray.  As a nurse, I knew this was not good.  Christmas morning about 2 am he stood on my chest.  I told him to go back to sleep and laid him down next to me. Later, as I was getting to begin Christmas morning, he started to have what looked like a seizure … and then … he was gone.  There was nothing I could do, except cry and hold him.  In retrospect, I believe that when he woke me at 2 am he was trying to say “mom, it’s time for me to go” but being who he was, he waited until I was awake. He was always thinking of me.  Archie was so much more than just a dog.  He was part of my soul.  I miss him terribly. I will love him always.  My heart hurts for him.