You came to me by accident, but it was obvious from the first that we were meant to be. You were at our local Humane Society and my best friend Diane was looking for a beagle and asked me to go with her to see you. You and I bonded the minute we laid eyes on each other and needless to say, Diane did adopt another dog but she also bought you as a birthday present for me. I had no intentions of coming home with a dog that day and Dad was not very happy with me because we already had nine other dogs.
I found out from the people at the Humane Society that you were surrendered from a breeder who showed his dogs in field trials. You had too much white on your tail for breed standards, so he tried to dock your tail (hence your name Doc), but took off too much so you still didn’t meet breed standards. You sadly became disposable to him and ended up at the Humane Society. That turned out to be a blessing though, because we found each other. You never would have excelled in field trials anyway because you were a real couch potato, definitely into your comforts. You were a very self-confident guy, in love with life and just happy doing whatever you were doing at the time. You were the biggest lover and my “baby” right from the very first day. You had your own pace and your own way of doing things and just happily went about your business. Love and happiness radiated from you and you were a favorite with all our friends and family. You rarely had much to say but when you did, that howl of yours would rattle the windows!
You were very special to me and in no time to Dad too, it was hard not to fall in love with you. You became extra special when suddenly in October of 2004, my dear lifelong friend Diane suddenly passed away at the age of 54–we had been friends for 36 years. Having you made me think of her everyday and how thankful I was that she gave you to me.
You and I should have had a lifetime together, but it wasn’t meant to be. Losing you came so suddenly and unexpected that I still can’t believe you’re gone. There was no warnings or symptoms, a total shock. It started with a plugged anal gland, which is normally not a big thing. Well, we had it cleaned out and it plugged again in less than two weeks. The second time we had it cleaned, Dr. Melissa found a polyp. We had the polyp removed and thought that was the end of it. About a month later, same thing happened again and again she found a polyp. The second time she went to remove the polyp, an abnormal sound in your lungs prompted her to do an x-ray. Unfortunately that x-ray revealed a very aggressive and rapidly spreading cancer, there was nothing we could do. Dr. Melissa was as shocked and saddened as we were. You showed no signs of any distress and remained your happy-go-lucky self through it all. We brought you home hoping we would have a little more time with you, but you started slipping and the disease became apparent in less than a week. We did the best and only thing we could for you and it broke our hearts; but your gentle, loving spirit is still and always will be with us. We know you are with Diane and your “brothers and sisters” waiting at the bridge for us and we are looking forward to the day when we are all together again. Although we still have all the other kids, we feel your absence–you were a very special lovable guy and you will be forever in our hearts. We miss you terribly.
With Eternal Love,
| Doc |
| 29, Dec 2006 |
| Helen Malinauskas & Joe Bielinski |