The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: crusader rabbit on August 04, 2015, 02:53:50 PM
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Some of you may remember me talking about Chuey the Wonder Dog on these pages before.
He was a really an exceptional dog.
I found him some 13-plus years ago at a local rescue. Chuey was a Shar-Pei mix and he'd been abandoned/dropped off with several of his litter mates while the shelter had been closed for the weekend. Somehow, he and his little puppy brothers and sisters managed to survive until personnel showed up to feed and water them and get them checked out by a vet. The gang was around 6-weeks old at the time.
I got to meet him about a week later, then checked the Internet to see how large male Shar-Peis got (around 40-45 pounds), applied to adopt him, and waited until they checked out my house and yard to make sure I had room for a dog. I figured 45 pounds would be a pretty good size--large enough to be considered a "real" dog, and small enough that it wouldn't be like living with livestock.
Chuey was knocking at the door of 95 pounds at his last vet check-up--not fat, all muscle, but certainly approaching the definition of livestock. But that beautiful boy was a very gentle and careful form of livestock right to the end.
He passed quietly this morning at 10:05.
I knew something wasn't right when I got up and found him sprawled on the floor and unwilling or unable to get to his feet even when he heard me filling his food bowl.
At 8 when the office opened, I called his vet, a really caring doc, and asked for the earliest appointment. I was told 10:30 was the soonest they could see him. I then got hold of HazCat and Haz Jr. to help me get the boy to the office as he is more than I can handle alone. They said they would come over at 10:15. I sat with Chuey while we waited.
I had a chance to tell him what a great dog he was, scratch his head and ears, and promise him it would soon be better. Then, at 10:05 his great heart stopped beating.
Chuey had lived a pretty good life for an abandoned puppy. He'd taken two very extended road trips with Bunny and me. Once all the way from home in Florida to California, and once to Arizona where we still have family. At every step of the journey, he behaved as the gentleman he was and as if he was having a lifetime adventure. Chuey was a great hotel guest.
He was always a favorite at the dog park, too, because he seemed to know just how rough he could play with the other dogs--even the little ones or the older and infirm dogs. But it was at home that he really earned his keep.
I never had to worry about Bunny when I had to be gone. Chuey was so protective there was no need for me to worry.
As I began to have some of my own medical issues, Chu seemed to know and would station himself outside the shower just standing guard while I washed away the day's dirt. At night, he was always right there beside my bed as the first line of defense against things that go bump in the night. During the day, he was in whatever room I happened to be in--not intrusive, just close by.
I loved that old dog so much. And missing him just hurts.
Thanks for listening.
Crusader Rabbit
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CR,Sorry for your loss,He sounds like he was an exceptional companion
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My condolences. After living together that long I know it's just like losing a member of the family. I wasn't able to be with my little buddy when he passed as I was in the hospital. Any pics you'd like to share?
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Sorry for your loss Crusader. Remember, you gave him a good life, and that is what mattered.
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You were with him at the end.
I have personally seen how much comfort a dog's "human" can be at times of fear or stress.
Love and caring then was the last and greatest boon you could give him.
Well done.
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Been there, done that! Not fun at all. Sorry for your loss. Being there at the end is a comfort to you both. Love and trust flowing both ways.
God Bless,
Richard
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I've got my big boy working his way through a knee surgery and I feel your pain. Letting go of your dog friends is always a tender thing that somehow tears a chunk of you with it. Sorry for your loss, Crusader. He was a good dog with a good man.
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God Bless him on his next adventure!
He'll have a blast with my little buddy, Harley the rat killer..
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I'll need to finish reading later. I've been cleaning feeders, and it appears I'm allergic to the old, wet, moldy feed. Will finish and respond when eyes quit watering :'(
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My sympathies. Lost my companion 4 years ago and still turn around sometimes expecting to see her waiting on me.
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I'm sorry..
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Sorry to hear that CR.
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CR, I feel for you and my condolences to you and Bunny.
I lost my OES, Cheyenne, earlier this year, and my dear Aussie, Torry, in 2011, both to cancer. I still expect to see Chey at the door when I come home. And Torry, who never lived her in KY, still pops up on my screen save quite often.
It gets easier, nut it never really goes away.
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Hate to hear this, CR....my best to you.
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CR, we lost our beloved canine relative 5 years ago, so I understand what you're saying. Chu was well and truly loved, and will meet you with wagging tail at the Pearly Gates one day.
Hugs to you and Bunny.
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I too have felt your pain with the loss of my Abigail - Great Pyrenees
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We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals.
Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion.
We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err, and greatly err.
For the animal shall not be measured by man.
In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.
The Outermost House
Henry Beston
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Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown..