A testimony to a life

[BirdbyBird]

I received this notice from our English Cocker Forum. Faith is a breeder that I have met from Virginia. I have never met this dog none of us here have but we all have dogs with stories. I share it because of the last lines.....in case we should ever forget.....


Our little girl Angel ( Encore's Angelwing Amethyst)passed away Friday morning. Her 11th birthday would have been August 4th. But this is not a sad post. I wanted all of you to know, how precious this life was.

Angel was born while Bruce and I were finalizing wedding plans. She was part of his first litter ever. It was fun seeing it through someone else's eyes, all new again She had a broken right leg at about a week old. Mommy stepped on her defending from some neighborhood kids who were knocking on the door. The vet put her on pain meds and insisted I learn to tube feed as bottle feeding wasn't safe. Angel's first lesson for me? as she got a little stronger, we did bottle feed-passing her from hand to hand, the youngsters Virginia, My daughter Megan and soon to be husband Drew., she charmed us all.

She attended our wedding, learned she could safely attack the bigger puppies when they were asleep( oh golly she loved making them squeal! brother Rocky got the worst of it)-and joined Drew and Megan in their first apartment.She rejoined us from time to time; had 2 litters along the way .She showed uncommon bird sense, crossing a creek to find a lost bird on her first outing, but we never did get that WD.She beat her sisters at her first puppy match. the leg would later make her gait funny and we never did try to show her. She knew she was beautiful!

She astounded all of us by leaping from the puppy pen, flattening Teresa Drais's big boy Tyler, and leaping back in the pen. Guess she made her point! ( he had shown no interest in the pups but that was Angel. She always had her own mind)

It was her last litter, her girl Rosie, whom my mother held, the last puppy she would ever hold...and when Rosie had her first litter, Angel joined her in the pen. Shared duties. With the second litter, she checked on Rosie but then..it was like-oh you are Ok no you know how to do this.

When there was a divorce, Angel stayed with Megan. When, last year, she announced she didn’t like Megan's new place and roommates and being left alone ( and she was the worst barker ever if left in a crate) she stayed with us. She had lost a little weight and seemed to be losing hearing rather quickly-but was OK. greeted everyone, had a great weekend.

Monday she slept all day. I actually wasn't concerned until the next day and then I started hand feeding, She liked that.

But by Wednesday she seemed weaker. Megan came and sat with her. no obvious pain just fever which baby aspirin seemed to help. on Thursday she refused food: I sat with her that day and all night, wiping her nose, offering her water..Every time I thought I could at least take a nap, I'd think she had stopped breathing..Megan got here early in the AM Friday. She sat with her, Rosie sat with her, her grandchildren playing at our feet, and she laid it down so gently in her mommy's arms about 10 AM.....it was so peaceful.She waited for Megan, what can I say.

she died on her own terms just as she lived....Bruce came home from Roanoke and we all helped bury her. she is right outside the window where we can put up a lovely marker for her..buried in a blanket my mother gave me years ago, with a toy flamingo for company.

She taught me that little doesn’t mean a small heart. that love is never weakened by being shared. that a death surrounded by loved ones, no matter how sad, just seems right.

this was a dog that LIVED!

Faith

[sharon]

I'm typing this and crying my eyes out as I do so. What a wonderful tribute to a great dog....I would hope that when I pass someone writes an obit like this about me. Thank you Tina for sharing this.

[mitch5252]

That is beautiful. Thanks.

[Marslet]

Oh, what memories!! As I sit here crying my eyes out I cant help of think of my darling Suggie, who died in November of 2007. We had to go to the camp because of our son and grandchildren coming down from Missouri. We knew Suggie was close and she had outlasted her vets estimate by 12 days at that time. Our daughter was coming up to the camp with Rob from New Orleans and asked me to tell Suggie to hold on for her. That precious little dog hung on to life with tooth and claws until Candace got there from New Orleans. She left us the next day while Can was holding her in her arms. Because she loved the camp so much, we buried her there in front of the little cabin. This too was a little dog who LIVED a life of love and loving people for over 16 years.
Thank you Tina for sharing.

[VickieP]

Tina, thank you for sharing such a beautiful story.

[cpatinjones]

Wonderful story.

[Bethers]

Beautiful story - and making me remember stories about all my animals who have passed. They teach us so much - so very much.

[AlmostThere]

What a great tribute to her furry friend. Thanks for sharing.

[Nasoosie]

That is a wonderful tribute to a much-loved little dog, and, like others, it has me crying and remembering all the wonderful loving souls I have laid to rest on the property here in our little private graveyard. Each burial was a supreme trauma, but a celebration of a life filled with unconditional love.