Creature
Creature can be summed up in three words….humble, faithful, and loyal. A breeder of longhaired Chihuahuas gave Creature to us. Our little dog looked different when placed beside his littermates. The breeder was calling him “Smut Face” because of the black mask on his face. Jim said that he would never call that little creature “Smut Face”. Thus the name Creature was born…Graham’s God-given Creature was his AKC name.
Buster, our small Yorkie, had a hard time accepting Creature at first but after about a week, Buster became Creature’s big brother. Creature was always humble from the very start.
Creature would follow Buster everywhere! Buster was five pounds and Creature weighed 13 pounds. Buster was the leader and Creature was the follower! Life was good! We would take Buster and Creature (aka “Our Boys”) for walks.
Buster would be all over his lead…running from one spot to the other. I would have to look down to be sure Creature was still there because he would not be pulling on his lead. He would be only a few inches off my feet on every step!
Creature would have been the perfect dog to take to nursing homes. His personality was one that every dog should have!
He was “one of a kind”.
EVERY time I would go to the bathroom, Creature was beside me! When I would take a bath…there was Creature waiting beside the tub. He would love to lick the water off of my leg as I was towel drying! Faithful…Full of Faith!!!!
We would leave for work…He’d be by the door when we left. When we would arrive home and look into the window, there was Creature sitting there starring at the door. It was as if he had not moved since we left.
Buster died in September 2003 at the age of 16. Creature died in February 2004 at the age of 14. It was as if he was still following Buster to the end. He missed his brother. We would see a tear in his eyes. He seemed to stay even closer to us during this time. One night we heard a thump and found Creature on his side. We thought he must have just tripped on something or lost his balance. Several days later, I was at home sick. Creature was beside me on the floor. I heard a thump…Creature was having a seizure. He had never had one before. This lasted for about three minutes. I called Jim and he called the vet. We were told to bring him in during Jim’s lunch break. About fifteen minutes passed. I was on the floor beside Creature, he fell onto the floor in another more violent seizure. This one lasted a lot longer. I grab him a blanket and raced to the vet.
Tests showed he had possible liver cancer and our vet said he probably had a brain leakage since he had never had a seizure before. Epilepsy starts when a dog is young. A shunt was put into Creature’s leg so that medicine for the seizure would quickly get into his system. Even with medication, we found that the seizures continued.
We spent our last night with Creature. He slept in bed with us as he always did each night. The next morning, we saw his tail wag and he ate a little food. We were so happy! About 30 minutes later, Creature was throwing-up and everything was downhill from there. He had another seizure. During the next several hours, his body was shutting down. We knew there was a decision that we had to face that our vet had warned us about. Creature went to Rainbow Bridge to be with his brother that day. Jim held Creature close as calmly Creature crossed the bridge. As tears now roll down my eyes, it has been so difficult facing each day. We miss Creature so much! In our hearts we can see him romping in Heaven with Buster. I bet the angels adore him! Rainbow Bridge is brighter now that our special
Creature is there watching and waiting for us.
You gave so much and
asked for so little.
We love and miss you with all our hearts!
| CREATURE |
| Feb 2004 |
| Cherry & James W. Graham |