nrc
06-04-12, 04:00 AM
Today we had to say a loving farewell to Pele, our second Manchester Terrier. We called her "puppy girl" because for most of her life with us she looked and behaved much like she did when we first adopted her. Her spirit never changed.
We used to tease that Pele was a "bear of very little brain," but the truth is that she was simply selective about when to use wile and when to use charm. She was never top dog, but she was the queen of the couch and bed - always managing to secure the best spot and defending it with sometimes a bit too much vigor.
Unlike our dear, departed Champ, Pele was far from breed standard. She was built more like a Whippet than a Manchester. But she could hit 100 miles per hour in the back yard and her wonderful bat-ears were irresistible. Plus, she knew that deep down all the Manchester bitches only wished that they could be as slender and leggy has her. She was a Princess.
At 15, Pele had enjoyed a good life weathering her fair share of health issues, bouncing back each time. But lately things had been catching up with her. A bad reaction to some medication left her stumbling around and at heart murmur progressed into full blown congestive failure.
Pele had her first serious bout with her heart issue a few weeks back. Congestive failure causes coughing fits and breathing problems. Some time in the doggie ICU got her back on her feet but it was clear then that our time with her was limited. Pele did her best to bop around the yard with the other dogs, but we knew that another episode would likely disable her completely.
That episode arrived this weekend. Some adjusted medication appeared promising but Pele seemed to decide that she was ready to move on to a place where she could still run 100 miles per hour around the yard and still jump to secure her favorite spot on the bed. She refused food or water and after over a day of that we accepted that it was her time.
I carried her around the yard one last time and we all sat on the couch for TV time with Pele in her favorite spot between us. Then we said our farewells and then took her on her last ride to the animal hospital. They have a comfortable room with a couch. Pele left us quietly, lying in her favorite spot.
We will miss Pele terribly. But it's a small price for all the joy she brought to our lives. We're free now to remember her not as the frail girl who left us, but as she was - our princess, our puppy girl.
_
We used to tease that Pele was a "bear of very little brain," but the truth is that she was simply selective about when to use wile and when to use charm. She was never top dog, but she was the queen of the couch and bed - always managing to secure the best spot and defending it with sometimes a bit too much vigor.
Unlike our dear, departed Champ, Pele was far from breed standard. She was built more like a Whippet than a Manchester. But she could hit 100 miles per hour in the back yard and her wonderful bat-ears were irresistible. Plus, she knew that deep down all the Manchester bitches only wished that they could be as slender and leggy has her. She was a Princess.
At 15, Pele had enjoyed a good life weathering her fair share of health issues, bouncing back each time. But lately things had been catching up with her. A bad reaction to some medication left her stumbling around and at heart murmur progressed into full blown congestive failure.
Pele had her first serious bout with her heart issue a few weeks back. Congestive failure causes coughing fits and breathing problems. Some time in the doggie ICU got her back on her feet but it was clear then that our time with her was limited. Pele did her best to bop around the yard with the other dogs, but we knew that another episode would likely disable her completely.
That episode arrived this weekend. Some adjusted medication appeared promising but Pele seemed to decide that she was ready to move on to a place where she could still run 100 miles per hour around the yard and still jump to secure her favorite spot on the bed. She refused food or water and after over a day of that we accepted that it was her time.
I carried her around the yard one last time and we all sat on the couch for TV time with Pele in her favorite spot between us. Then we said our farewells and then took her on her last ride to the animal hospital. They have a comfortable room with a couch. Pele left us quietly, lying in her favorite spot.
We will miss Pele terribly. But it's a small price for all the joy she brought to our lives. We're free now to remember her not as the frail girl who left us, but as she was - our princess, our puppy girl.
_