When someone you love becomes a memory
The memory becomes a treasure

Spike ~ The Wonder Dog

What can I say, In 2001 when Linda brought him home I told her I didn't want anything to do with having a pet.  They're messy and nothing but trouble.

Well it didn't take long for Spike to win me over. 

He came with a crate but we never had to use it because he was such a good boy.  Granted he was five years old but most Min Pins are a little crazy.  Spike was more of a lounge lizzard. We could go out and he was off to take a nap, most of the time belly up. Under the covers or afgan were his favorite places.   When we came home,  the house was as we left it.   Nothing was chewed or torn up.   He did however like a good used Kleenex or paper towel if it wiped up something yummy... 

The back yard was his kingdom.    Squirrels, chipmunks or any other varmit was always on guard because he would be right on their butt.  Once and a while he would catch a slow moving rodent and just had to eat it.  Good luck trying to get it away from him. But that's what Min Pins do. Talk about eating, what wouldn't he eat. Bird food, rabbit poop, mulch, and just about all veggies with carrots being his favorite since he ate one every evening.
He ate the regular crickets but hated the camel ones with the big back legs.
All he would do is smuch them and pull the legs off because they not only
looked strange but they must have tasted equally as bad.

He really liked his walks and would jump like a kangeroo when he saw that leash.  He was such a mild mannered fellow.   Never tried to bite anyone and everyone was his friend.  He did have the meter reader on his toes a few times but he was just showing us how much of a loyal protecter he was.

Christmas was especially exciting for him since he had this uncanny way to know which toys under the tree were his and had no problem getting them un-wrapped, in a hurry.  He would even give you a hand with yours as well.

He learned quite a few tricks over the years but fetch meant to get something and keep it not give it up.  The exception was when we were using pieces of hot dog as treats!

In time he started to get the old grey face and was slowing down a bit but would still push himself even if it meant hurting a bit the next day. I can relate to that.  

Back before Thanksgiving in 2006 one afternoon he had an episode where he couldn't stand up without falling over.  It scared the crap out of us.  Off to the emergency vet on a Saturday afternoon to find out it was some old dog thing called vestibular.  The vet said he might have side effects but not Spike.  He had shook it off and was ready to come home but had to stay the night just to be safe.   Just one night away from home was sad for us seeing the empty bed.  Next day he was acting as though nothing happened.  What a tough dog.

I think the best time he ever had was in August of '07 when we visited Linda's sister Sharon on the Eastern Shore.   The have a little dog Kosmo who Spike really had a ball playing with. O didn't really want to let him off the leash but did it anyway.  I've never seen him run so fast and for so long.  We had to grab him and make him catch his breath and rest once in a while.

Then in the middle of July of 2008 we noticed his lymph nodes swolen around his neck and on his rear legs.  We were hoping it was some sort of minor infection or reaction to something. Next day it was off to the emergency vet again but hey, it's Spike, the wonder dog and he can get through anything...       But, the bad new was he had lymphoma.  An estimate of how long he had left was not too sure, maybe two or three weeks.  That's when the reality of life and death kicked in.  It was one of the worst heart breaking things we could have heard.   We started him on meds to keep him comfortable but didn't want our old friend to have to put up with kemo and tons of trips to the vet.

By the end of August we knew it was time to let him go.  The swelling on his face made it impossible to pick up his toys, kong, or eat carrots.  The meds made it difficult for him to sleep at night and we could tell he wasn't the happy dog of years ago.  I just couldn't find a way to make myself end his struggle.  I kept telling him to give me a sign when he's had enough and on the 29th of August he did.  Linda had just left for the races and I gave him a big lunch.  After he finished eating he sounded like he was choking or having trouble breathing so I knew it was time.  I took him to the vet and told him Spike was ready to end his suffering.   Spike and I bonded one last time.  We gave each other kisses and smelled each other’s scent and I told him how much we loved him and will always remember how special he was.  After it was over,  as I was walking out of the room I looked back to se my best friend for the last time.

 Spike is "The Wonder Dog"