Stormy 1991-2010

I didn't even want her when we were first given an opportunity to adopt her from a family friend. Taking care of a dog really goes against my creed of laziness...but she seemed like an ALRIGHT dog and she was happy once she stopped crying for her past owner. She grew on me in less than a week. From that point on, I was HOOKED.

In her previous life, she wasn't walked often. She was let out into the yard to do her business but that was about it. So when we took her for walks, she would pull and pull. It was hard to deny her the joy she derived from running 7 feet before the leash choked her and spun her around by the neck. She also spent a ridiculous amount of time at EACH bush, tree, hydrant, street sign, blade of grass, etc. Since she was well trained in all other aspects, we decided to spoil her and let her do whatever she wanted when she was outdoors.

I didn't realize that I didn't like dogs until well after I first met Stormy. I got used to her easy going and loving temperament. It annoyed me when other dogs tried to lick me or jump on me or got their hair all over my clothes. Stormy never did any of that. When she wanted company, she`d come over to see if you were in the mood to pet her and let her sit by you. If not, she went to bed. If so, she`d lie by your side until you get up and leave. When we wanted to play with her, she`d usually indulge us. Interestingly, the only time she played fetch was right after a bath when she became super energetic and developed a need to rip into soft toys! I really missed her when I moved out and was happy to see that she was always glad to see me when I visited (and vice versa)!

She remained so young and vibrant until May `09. Suddenly, she stopped eating, drinking, and moving around. There was swelling in her chest and it was feared that her liver was starting to fail. We had to prepare ourselves to put her down and had to start deciding when we should do it. Miraculously, she made a recovery, even though her joie de vie suffered slightly. I was so excited to see her over Christmas but was sad to see that while she was feeling better, her age was starting to catch up to her. She was completely blind (cataracts) and spent most of her time in bed. While she enjoyed going for walks from time to time and being treated to human food, she no longer bounced around or actively begged for food. She was never good with her nose so she had to depend on people to bring food to her (she knew there was food around...she just couldn't figure out where it was). The saddest thing was that she had little or no reaction when she heard me. I don`t know whether she recognized my voice or not (she used to before). She usually perks up and gets excited when she hears me call for her but she just seemed really tired and distant. Even though this was disappointing, I was happy that she was still relatively healthy.

When I touched down in Melbourne this past week and turned on my cell phone, I got numerous messages and emails asking me to call my parents - Stormy was in big trouble. They were at the vet and was about to put her down. She had what may have been a ruptured invertebral disc...it was causing her a tremendous amount of pain. She was panting and screaming constantly. There was nothing that could be done at this point. It was time to let her go. I was glad I got the chance to say goodbye over the phone and tell her that I love her. I hope she recognized my voice. Even if she didn't, I hope she knew that we all loved her.

Update: Just received a picture of Stormy in her final minutes. I was very happy to hear that her last moments were calm and peaceful. I didn't believe in puppy heaven until now. A dog as awesome as she was deserves no less! :)