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In Memory of My Dog Prince

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dhill757
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« on: April 12, 2021, 10:47:13 am »

On a July morning In Sun Prairie, WI, back in 2003, a little white dog came into the world. He was the runt of the litter and the cutest as well. When I picked him up in September to adopt him, he cried as I took him from his home. We stopped at the drive-thru at KFC, I gave him some fried chicken and we were fine since then. I named him Prince, not after the singer but because that was what he seemed to be, a little prince. And, of all the dogs I have ever had, Prince was probably my favorite (of course, all of them were great).

He lived almost 18 years until his death this morning, most likely of cancer, as it has claimed all of my other dogs. He had two mates (yes, two), Missy and Buffy. He outlived poor Missy by 7 years. He also fathered many of the other dogs I've written about here, including Sam, Cookie, Nikki, Candy, Cleo and Priscilla. Prince gave me the best gift that anyone has ever given me, when it came to his first litter in Cookie, Cleo, Nikki and little Sam. His last litter included white pups, just like him, including Candy, who looked just like him, but preceded him into death by some five years. Three of his pups were born stillborn, the rest went off to brighten the homes of others. For many years, Prince was a loyal companion and I spoiled the heck out of him. It is no exaggeration to say the little fellow was like a son to me.

Once, he ran away from home and I was lucky to get him back. A neighbor thought about keeping him, luckily dropped him off at my vet’s instead. I was lucky I didn't lose him then. He had generous qualities, once when Cleo was sick, and he sensed we were talking about her, he warmed her with his body, looked at us for our reactions. He was a great little guy.

In later years, though health issues sapped his vibrancy and the cheerful little guy I knew gradually went away, so much so that when the end came, it was almost a relief, not just for him, but for me. Frequently, when I awoke in the morning it was not to an alarm clock but to his howls. Prince, who by this time couldn't see, had wandered into a tight space he couldn't get out of, or just wanted food or water. For years, my first concern when I awoke in the morning or came home from work at night was, where's Prince or how did he do today?  Despite his lack of vision, he had great genes, and, unlike all the others that preceded him, a dogged will to survive.

And then came last Saturday when his health finally took a turn for the worst. The little fellow wouldn't stop howling and his howls finally turned to a shortness of breath. A day and a half of lingering like that, until he drifted off to death on Monday morning, nearly a year to the day after Cleo, his daughter died. He was also preceded by Priscilla last year, whom he was closest to and comforted him.

17 years, the end of an era for me, I was young when I started with him, now  my own end is somewhere down the end of the tunnel, too. This one felt like far more than the death of a pet, but the end of something unique and good.

I will miss you, Prince, if any dog was ever like a son to me, it was you. May we meet in the afterlife, each of us whole and happy again, to be as we were. I hope you forgive every one of my many failings towards you, we both know, you deserved better than me. You truly were a prince among dogs. God’s speed to you, little princeling, now the whole of heaven can adore you like I did.



« Last Edit: April 13, 2021, 05:18:56 pm by dhill757 » Report Spam   Logged

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dhill757
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« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2021, 12:45:35 am »

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