You are so loved and you touched us in ways that we will never be the same without you. I’ll never forget – you were our “planned” puppy and our experience with an actual professional breeder was new for us. They chose you for us based on our lifestyle and your personality. You were the most independent of your miracle litter (10 puppies by artificial insemination) and also tested as the smartest. In my opinion, you were the most beautiful puppy. And you came at a very difficult time for me as I had lost my Daddy just a few days before we came to get you. You were a great comfort to me.
Your independent nature made you appear sort of aloof, and you preferred to meet people at your pace. Your little life had a rough start when we learned about your affliction with your legs. We were so disheartened when we notified the breeder and she said she would take you back; we were very much attached to you from the moment we saw you, and although it was serious, your condition was fixable. What a brave, brave pup. Surgery involved cutting a piece of bone from both front legs and placing a steel rod between the bones, hoping new bone would then grow around. It worked, but you would forever have crooked legs and feet sticking out at angles. By the time we found out about all this your poor little leg bones were actually starting to crack. You probably had pain for most of your young life and just thought that was the way it was supposed to be. I hope we changed all that for you.
When you were about a year old Gypsy came into our lives as a stray puppy. You had a playmate closer in age to you now and you could leave grumpy little Nikki alone. You and Gypsy very seldom left each other’s side.
You certainly had a thing about birds. Every time birds (especially ducks) would fly over the house you’d run from one end of the yard to the other barking
and looking up at them.
Chief, you got along with everybody. You developed a special bond with your grandma because she babysat you all the time, especially when you were recuperating from your leg surgeries. And she is as heartbroken as we are. She loved all her grand puppies, but you were her special boy. We took you to doggie play dates and you behaved so well. You knew to stay away from any potential trouble situation, but you were friendly to all. You always got attention wherever we went. When my employer said there was a mandatory instruction class to attend, I made you and your breed my focus and you stood out.
Awe inspiring – that’s you.
You loved having your paws rubbed and we did it as often as possible. You would “pet” us with those heavy paws of yours and sometime we got wonderful, sloppy kisses and big old Leo hugs. We wondered at your flexibility in your sleep as you slept on your back.
You had a “woof” that would make anyone think twice about coming close, but you were the most gentle giant. You played nice with Nikki even as he got older and senile. You ran and played with Sunshine for a while and then got Gypsy as a new playmate. You were there when we had critical health issues for Daddy and me.
When we moved to Texas you were 8 years old and some gray was showing in your face. You handled the long drive like a trooper, but then you were always good in the car and loved going for rides. You loved prowling the new yard and got your first taste of snow. You saw deer and who knows what else. But your eyes were starting to dim and your hearing wasn’t quite what it used to be. Then you met Spock and at first you did not act friendly at all. Spock was apparently a threat and you were going to let him know who the boss was. But Spock was a sick little boy himself and when we decided to keep him you were okay with that. You met him inside the house instead of outside; did that make such a difference to you? But you actually played with him a little and I think his youth brought a playful side back to you for a while.
This year you had a bad ear infection and had a hematoma, first in the left ear and then in the right. And not long after that you started having the problems with your back legs. We knew it was serious when you couldn’t get up without help. Evidently, you were beyond the laser treatments and we knew what we had to do when your front legs were “knuckling”. The doctor suspected a brain tumor. But you were so strong, even with this latest affliction; you would not have an accident in the house and you did your best to get up. We helped you outside but you could not stand to do your business. The whole process had to be a terrible ordeal for you and we knew you were not happy with this. You are a dignified, beautiful, brave boy and this is not what we wanted for you; I’m sure you didn’t want to live like that.
Our hearts broke today as we said goodbye to your beautiful soul. You took a piece of us but also left a huge piece of yourself and we will never forget you. I hope you find Sunshine and Nikki and Samantha. Biggin is there somewhere and although you never met him, you would have been great together. Now I can picture you running around chasing birds on straight legs without pain, and my brave boy; I believe we’ll see you again. Run! Run! Run!
With all our love
| Chief |
| 25, Sep 2013 |
| Joan and Dave Altizer |