R.I.P.

Misha, my Main Dog and Senior Wiener. September 21, 1987-May 19, 2003. Spitfire to the last.

My darling, adorable Betsy left this world to join my other late wieners on November 29, 2005. My birthday. Worst birthday on record so far.

Betsy was the friendliest, sunniest, sweetest-natured hound dog I've ever known in my life -- and I've known LOTS of hound dogs. Here she is when she used to select winners in my monthly contest

Dancer, my mom's insane miniature pinscher (I guess that's redundant). Dancer just showed up one day, and he and my mom had a wonderful life together.

Unfortunately, the feisty Dancer challenged a couple of German shepherds to a fight on April 4, 2006. Dancer lost, and, although he fought a gallant battle to recover, he was defeated by a flesh-eating bacteria that rendered him unable to struggle along any longer. He was put down on April 14, 2006, and the world is a sadder place for it.

"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 and 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 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. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away 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......."

Jake, whose only sin was to have been born part pit bull. In Pasadena, CA, the Humane Society doesn't adopt out pit bulls because of the irresponsible maniacs who want them.

Alice Gregoire, who bred three of my current pack of wiener dogs, and Tiffany, who died from cancer on August 30, 2005, at the age of nine. Sometimes life just isn't fair!

Weenie la Pew and Anni's dog Lacey.

Akane, Riki's dog, and Lulu, who more or less belonged to Anni, didn't last too long in California after they moved from New Mexico.

Gretchen, Ladybug and Betsy. Gretchen left this mortal coil in 1999 at the age of 19, and Ladybug died February 3, 2003, also at the age of 19. They're together again, which is how they'd want it. And now Betsy has joined them. Sigh.

Truffles, 1980-1993, with Anni & Riki (playing their guitars). One of the more neurotic of my wiener dogs, I loved her dearly. She was three years old when she came to us, and she lived with us until she was 13.

Dai & Riki with Eric. I'd always thought Truffles was the most neurotic dog in the world -- until Eric came into my life.

Jewel, Ribbon and Betsy, all gone, alas.

Felicity the cat. I'm not a cat person, but Felicity was an exception. She was a sweetie, and I miss her.

Emily Oshita (my granddaughter-in-law) and her basset hound Beldan. Beldan departed this life in the summer

This is Lynda Fitzgerald's MacMac, who lived only to chase the tennis ball and bring joy to his family. He was four when we rescued him. He had been abandoned after being hit by a car. Several surgeries later, he still walked with a serious limp, but it never slowed him down. MacMac must have been an outfielder in a former life. Or a tennis pro. He never took his eye off the ball, and he would do a backflip to catch a tough pitch. We enjoyed twelve years of toss the ball before he left us in September of 2005, and his "buddies" sorely miss him. So do we.

Harvey. Harvey and Gretchen came to live with me as foster children earlier in the year 2006. He died on December 17, 2006, and I'm just heartbroken. Harvey was a perfectly adorable gentleman.

Art and Nicki Aratin's cat, Bailey, went to Rainbow Bridge on August 3, 2007, the day after his mother's birthday. He was ten years old and had health problems for most of his life. As a feral kitten, he was adopted from the SPCA but let himself become both domesticated and spoiled. He was the runt of his litter and tipped the scales at 15 pounds. I wonder how large his siblings became. Besides his parents and friends, Bailey leaves his sibling dog, Tallulah Mae.

Poor old Rudy was one of my foster wieners for about three years. He crossed the bridge of June of 2008.

Cloudy was the fluffiest cat in the universe, and she absolutely LOVED Christmas. Cloudy disappeared in June 2005. Robin fears she might have been attacked by the pack of coyotes that roam the neighborhood (since their own habitat in the foothills is almost gone now).

ZV, December 1, 1988 - March 4, 2003. A Yorkshire terrier, ZV owned Joan Novak, who says, "I too lost my best furry friend just this spring after 15 years. Check out my tribute at: http://www.geocities.com/zvdog/zvdg.html"

Trigger. Part poodle and part who knows what, and probably the best dog in the world (apologies to my own pack of wieners). Trigger belonged to my grandsons, Dai and Riki, and was tragically killed by a semi truck when Anni and Riki were on vacation in 2001.

Laura McDonald's Tabatha. Tabatha was born in Beaufort, SC, and was adopted from the animal shelter in April, 1986. Tabatha was lucky enough to travel all over the US, Canada and Europe. She lost her hearing at the age of 2, but never let the other cats in the family know that she was not still the boss. Diagnosed with renal failure in November 2002, she died on May 3, 2003 at 17. She is truly missed by all of us.

Shadow, R.I.P. May 25, 2003. According to her mom Cheryl Strange, "Shadow liked to pretend she was a guard dog. She had a vicious-sounding bark but wouldn't hurt a fly. I think her greatest joy in life was to be with her people, Dean and Angela, and to make them laugh and be happy. You could tell she only wanted to please them."

Jan Zimlich's Leo. "Leo the retriever was with us for only a few short years but he was much loved by my family. He was a rescue dog, discovered one rainy day hiding on my carport with a broken hip and other injuries. Leo's previous

This is Peppy, who belonged to Cheryl Strange's parents. Cheryl's fondest memory of Peppy was when her daughter was born almost 9 years ago. When she was in the bassinet and she cried, Peppy would stand up on his back legs and look in as if he was her special angel keeping an eye

Mindy, who belonged to Louise B., crossed the Rainbow Bridge on September 15, 2002, at the age of 14. "She was an 8 pound poodle who saw herself as our protector. Feisty, she was the leader of the pack, even lying sick on her pillow. She wouldn't do any tricks, but when she wanted attention, she'd lift her back legs in the air then walk around the house or yard. It always worked, too."

Sooner and Keith Berger, cousins-in-law. "Keith and Sooner, a shaggy terrier mix, were great buddies for over 14 years, from puppy-hood to arthritic old age (for Sooner). Kindness decreed that we help Sooner cross over the Bridge, but it

This beautiful lady was Joy, who brightened the life of Maria Velazquez until last June. "She was a total princess, spoiled beyond belief, my constant companion, my dearest friend, quiet, and regal."

And here is Brandiwyne, late and dearly beloved owner of Art and Nicki Aratin. Art and I used to dance together, back in the good old days when were were both young and fit. Boy, does that seem like a long time ago. Brandi was, I am assured by Art, the best dog who ever lived. I believe him. Even if my Misha was the

Sebastian Pussy Cat. Sebastian lived with Emily for years and years, before he got sick. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge during the fall of 2005.

And here’s Georgie. Georgie was a foster wiener, and he had Cushing’s Disease. His disease finally got the better of him, and I had to have him put down on December 17, 2009. Sigh. 2009 was a rough year, and 2010 is looking even grimmer. Bummer, huh?.

Here’s Tootsie, one of my former foster children (later named Gretchen by her adopter). Her health failed right around Christmas time, and she had to be put down not long after the new year (2010). Made me very sad:

I’m very sad to report that I had to have Chipper, my latest foster child, put to sleep. He couldn’t understand that it was not a good thing to bite people who came to the house. Sigh. I wish people who surrendered their dogs would tell the truth about why the dogs are being surrendered. It hurts my heart to have to make mortality decisions they should have made, y’know?

This one is killing me. I had to have Dandy put down on May 8, 2009. He was only about four years old, but he suffered from something called (erroneously) Springer Rage Syndrome. That means, he’d go crazy and bite people. He finally bit his seventh human, and, after discussing his problem with people who know about dogs, I did the only thing I could do in good conscience and had him put down. Sob! Skipper is miserable without him, and so am I. These are the last pictures I took of dandy. He doesn’t look like a vicious biting dog, does he? Well, he wasn’t, really. This rage syndrome thing evidently concerns a glitch in the brain that makes the dog go nuts and attack people (and other dogs. That happened, too). I feel absolutely awful about this.

Alice Duncan
P.O. Box 4316
Roswell, NM 88202
alice@aliceduncan.net
http://aliceduncan.net/