It has been very hard on me, losing my beloved chihuahua, Sam, when he found it nearly impossible to breathe anymore. He was about 14 years old and my last link to Reno. He adopted me when he was a stray back in July of 2005.
Some Facebook postings I made this morning:
At 7:50 this morning, at Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialists, Sam died in my arms. He went peacefully. No more suffering. I am inconsolable.
He is being cremated with his favorite thing, the pink Snuggy he stole from me several years ago. It is going to be hard sleeping at night without this dog with me. He was with me every single day, outside of the four days he spent at the vet three years ago when he got so sick and a brief trip I made to Reno in 2013, since he moved in with me in 2005.
I have to throw away his heart meds because the pharmacist can't take them back. The 30-day supply was never used.
I spent a lot of money on that medication (pimobendin/Vetmedin, furosimide, benazepril), well over 1,000 dollars, probably more like 2 or 3 thousand, but those pills extended his life three-and-a-half years. Sam had a good quality of life until right before the end. He was walking around the mobile home park as recently as last Thursday, before he got so bad on his breathing. His time on the medication is more than most dogs. Most last only a few months
Duffy is sticking close to me, watching over me. I will never forget how Sam was when I had Tony put to sleep in 2010. He came to me, stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on my leg, and had great big tears in his eyes. He was actually crying. He knew exactly what had happened to Tony.
At some point I will get another pet, probably a dog, but it will be awhile. Duffy is so good with other dogs. He really loved Sam.
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A blast from the past, in 2005:
This is one of those days where I thought I'd have absolutely nothing to write about because there isn't anything worth writing about unless I want to rant about Karl.
Well, it's those dog days in July. The temperature is now in the nineties, and I decided I wasn't going to take in any "cultural" events today. However, the main action has been here in this dinky-assed apartment.
Two days ago, at around dark, I opened the door to the backyard and saw Tony playing with a little white Chihuahua. The two of them seemed to get along famously, but when the Chihuahua saw me, he ran off. He was so tiny he could get through the narrow opening in the gate, and I thought that perhaps he belonged to a neighbor.
That was that.
Then last night, at around dusk, I opened the backdoor again, and Tony and the Chihuahua were playing again. This time the little white dog took off through the gate and hid behind the landlord's freezer, which he has encased in some big crate. This little dog was tiny enough he could squeeze in. I was thinking that maybe the dog didn't belong to a neighbor; there was no collar, no identification. He also seemed to be very, very skinny, with his ribs, backbone, and hips sticking out. I thought that perhaps he was a stray, and if I could possibly tame him, I would keep him. So I brought a dish of water and a dish of food, and he started to drink and devour both. But when I got closer, he started growling at me. After a bit I removed both dishes and put them outside the crate, and the little Chihuahua came out and took off.
And I thought that was the end of it.
This evening, the woman who lives next door to me (or did, as she's moving out) brought her dog with her, and we were talking about the little Chihuahua. I told her about the little dog and Tony were playing with each other getting along great, and how the dog was scared of me and hid behind the landlord's freezer. I also told her that earlier today I looked at the bowls, and it seemed almost all of the dry dog food was gone and the water was also gone.
I told her I thought that perhaps somebody next door owned the dog, but if he came around I would probably keep him.
I went back to the apartment and was going to go out front to water the flowers, and what should happen that the little Chihuahua came up the steps and came right into the apartment. He was SO thin that I hoped he wouldn't die of malnutrition, and he drank the water and ate some dry food (which was Tony's, but Tony was out in the backyard), and he decided to go up on the chair next to the window. He still was too afraid for me to pet him, and later he went into the bedroom, went under the dresser and finally parked himself on top of my bed on top of one of the pillows.
He was wagging his tail at me, but he was still too afraid to let me pet him.
I think, however, he's here for good.
I went ahead and blocked all of the areas of the backyard where I think he could escape, should he try anymore.
Tony has been in here since the other dog moved in, but he didn't even seem to notice there was another dog.
When I feed the two of them, I will have to watch them both, as I don't think the other dog has been neutered. Then when I'm gone I will have to put the food away so they don't fight.
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He stayed with me for good.
Some pictures of him over the years, with one of him and Tony sleeping on the couch and two of him with Duffy:
He got the worst of it in an altercation with a cat in 2008:
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