Max by Dianna Williamson / Mom

The summer of 1990 I was at a flea market and I saw a little ball of blondish fur in a pen with some other puppies. He was curled up in a corner all by himself, the only one of his litter. I already had two dogs at home so I didn’t want or need another. I walked past several times, stopped and petted him but kept on going. I left the flea market headed home. I even got a few miles down the road. But I went back and got my “flea market doggie” and my best friend for the next 14 1/2 years.

He was about three months old, part Chihuahua, brown nose and light brown eyes. He was so small and timid looking, I named him Max because to me that sounded like a big dog’s name.

Max quickly fit in with Suzie. She was about 5 years older but much smaller. Sammy was the big outside dog but Max always thought he was the “big dog”.

Max and Suzie both slept in bed with us, usually in the middle. About 6 years ago Suzie passed on. About a year later Sammy passed. Max was an only dog.

Two and a half years ago my husband and I divorced, and Max and I moved into our new home. After 12 years in the same home Max adapted well to our new life. I work a lot of hours so Max had to be home alone sometimes but he did okay except during thunderstorms. After the move he became very afraid of storms even if I was home.

Max was always by my side inside and out. When I was working in my flower beds, Max was right there walking in the dirt “trying to help”. I will miss his help next spring when I continue working on what will now be “Max’s Garden”.

Max always cheered me up if I was down and made me feel better if I was sick. He curled up beside me in bed or sometimes slept with his head on the other pillow. Max was always waiting for me at the door when I got home, happy to see me.

In December of 2002 Max started having fainting spells; they only lasted seconds but scared me to death. I took him to the vet and it turned out he had some infected teeth. After they were pulled he was doing well. After about 6 months the fainting started again, about once every 5 or 6 weeks. Halloween weekend the fainting started happening 2 or 3 times a day. The vet did some tests and said Max’s heart was enlarged. There was some medicine we could try but nothing was going to cure him. The medicine didn’t work and Max got worse real fast.

On Friday, Nov. 12 before I left for work, Max was real weak and his breathing was very labored, he hadn’t eaten for two days. I laid him in his bed, I was so afraid he would be gone before I got home. When I did get home, he didn’t meet me at the door. He was waiting for me in his bed. He was so weak he could barely move and was having so much trouble breathing. I sat on the floor and held him and talked to him and cried. I knew I had to let him go. Max had been such a good friend and companion I couldn’t let him suffer any longer.

I held him and told him how much I loved him. I never let him out of my arms until he was gone. They wrapped him in his blanket and I held him until we got to the funeral home where I had him cremated. I haven’t decided yet what to do with his ashes.

It’s been two weeks and my heart is still as broken now as it was when Max slipped away. There will never be another dog like Max; he lives forever in my heart. I have to believe that he is happy and healthy and waiting for me at Rainbow Bridge and we will be together one day, never to be parted again.