AW
@Pictor ! Such a gorgeous pup! You can see how smart she is right there in those eyes. I'd love to see a recent pic when you can get one. And I am very happy to hear that she's a relative to your beloved once in a lifetime dog. That's so special, and very lucky for you that she was available at the time you needed her most.
It was pretty incredible to have such a special puppy available. We'd taken both our dogs to have their teeth cleaned last March, and an intermittent limp checked on Sophie's leg. The vets face told us there was problem when we went back, and sure enough, there was a tumour on her leg. It came like a bolt out of the blue, and so unexpected. I was recovering from illness, so the timing was really bad as it set me back quite a bit.
Much discussion on the best way to deal with it (vet was amazingly helpful for days), and eventually, I chose to go for controlled pain relief - it was the right choice, as exactly 3.5 months later, she was pain free, but started getting other problems, and it was obvious that it had spread to her lungs when the vet checked. So we called it a day and sat with her. Sad evening for us both, and we still miss her.
We made sure there were plenty of good days in that 3.5 months though - trips to the beach, ice cream, chips & coffee. Things she'd never had, but enjoyed so very much.
Sophie's cousins owner has long been a good friend - she breeds a litter only when she wants a new dog to show, which isn't frequent. (3 times in the 9 years we've known her), and when I phoned to tell her about Sophie, she carefully told us about the 9 puppies that had been born just a week earlier. She said that there was one girl that she just knew on sight would be for us. She'd known Sophie was dying, but hadn't mentioned the puppies.
A week later, she sent a photo of the puppies and the little one she'd earmarked for us - loved her on sight, but I said I wasn't sure yet - it felt too soon somehow, and she said she'd keep her for as long as it took to say yes
I think she'd known all along that one of those puppies would be for us.
Once we thought about the similarities there'd be with our lost dog, we couldn't resist getting her.
Serendipitous? fate? I don't know - very unlikely there'll ever be another litter with such close ties to that dog, so it could only happen once - but to happen right at that time was quite something.
As it turned out, all but one of those 9 puppies went to people who had recently lost a dog. That's a whole lot of happiness they spread around.
We've only got grand-doggers now. But, I love them just the same. Here's our grand-dogger Daisy. She spends most days here with us, and is very spoiled! Hope the pic doesn't turn out too large!
Daisy is lovely! She looks so huggable. No wonder she's spoiled!
How old is she?
My mom and dad had a white standard. I was at the vet to pay the bill for the dog we'd had that ultimately passed away. While I was there, the receptionist asked if I thought they'd be interested in an owner surrender that had just came in. I told her I'd ask and see so I used their phone to call home. My mom said to bring her home and she would see. That's how FiFi came to join us. The vet had to shave her first to get rid of all the mats from the previous owners neglect of grooming her. FiFi instantly became my mom's dog. Every 3 months, she went to the groomer and she would come home blinding white, fresh haircut with bows on her ears and toenails painted to match. She would prance around for days! She lived to be around 18 years old.
Another of those occasions where you were in the right place at the right time for both your family, and for FiFi!
Ours gets groomed every 4-5 weeks (coat grows fast) no pretty toenails or bows, but she always looks smart. 18 is a wonderful age, and the reason we felt both us and Sophie had been cheated out of so much love by her dying at 10, because she loved us as much as we loved her. Such a cruel and vicious disease.
Never mind, they live on in our minds.
The last one settled down as she reached full size and maturity. Lovely, funny, very faithful, and super intelligent ...too smart sometimes.
