| Angels Contents Page 1 | Angels Contents Page 2 | Angels Contents by Name |
| Sheltie Angel People | Loving Words | Links of Interest |
| Home | ||
Sheltie Angels Page Thirty-Five
"Cosmo"
2003 - April 28, 2008
He may have been neutered too early. I don't
think he met a dog he didn't like. Or, in fact, any animal he didn't like,
except maybe a few cats. He seemed to want to play with the deer that cross
through my yard, and oddly enough they moved only far enough away just to
look at him. They never feared him because instinct told them he would never
harm another animal; he just didn't know how or was simply too gentle. He
even thought it was a good idea to play with skunks a couple of times. I'm
not even really sure he learned it wasn't. I suspect he would have done it
again. Thank goodness he never spotted a porcupine.
I drove a long way to get him. For better or
worse, I wanted a dog like my previous dog, an oversized male sheltie named
Laddie (also
memorialized on this site, with a song). People asked me why that breed.
Shelties speak with their eyes, they are expressive and compassionate. And
truth be told, I love how they smell, how they feel, and they are cuddly on
cold nights. Cosmo was a
rescue dog. He had apparently suffered abuse by the family he lived with
before me. The most peaceful of animals, he was originally named Sarge and
shaven when I got him. It was obvious (from the way he ran from TV shows) he
was familiar with the sound of gunshots, shouting, even the click of a gun
cocking. My home has overhead can lights with floodlight bulbs. When turned
off, they make almost imperceptible clicks as the filaments cool down. That
little noise would send Cosmo running from the room, too. His name was a
compromise. To me, he looked like a "Simon" - if he had been a human, he
certainly would have worn thick glasses - but at that time I was married and
his new name had to suit all of us.
It was clear that in his old home he was loved by a woman and over-trained -
and probably bullied - by a man. And, I'd heard, tormented by children. He
came into my home expecting somewhat of a family and ended up with just
me... and I know as much as he relied on me, trusted me (though not fully),
and loved me, he was never fully comfortable here with a male. He brought
love to my life - the unconditional love only a pet, and especially a very
dependent pet, can bring. I also realize he gave my day structure. As much
as I hated that he woke up early, especially on cold, wet winter mornings,
he gave me reason to go out into the yard to start the day. And to walk him
every day at 5 sharp - any sheltie owner knows their dog can tell time. And
a quick walk out for a breath of air after dinner and into the darkness at
night. I miss the regularity he brought to my schedule, even if it meant I
had to come home from a fun night out because, really, he had very small
kidneys. :-)
I did not have Cosmo for very long, about two and two-thirds years. I don't
know how old he lived to be, but he was probably about five. His legs went
bad and very rapidly he couldn't walk, and was diagnosed with cancer. What a
poor, sweet soul. His early life was clearly not happy, and even though I
gave him as much love as I had, he came into my life at a difficult time
and, I'm sure, absorbed a lot of my stress. He did have a good home but for
his own reasons never really settled in fully. A number of friends said he
was never meant to be in this world in the first place and chose to leave
early.
In my naive fantasies I like to think my
previous sheltie, Laddie, a too-courageous alpha, is guiding him in doggie
heaven and teaching him the ropes for when he comes back next time.
Goodbye, Cosmo. You were the sweetest.
Scott Calamar
Note from Amy: For those interested in Laddie
and hearing his song, you may follow
this link-
Just Dancing Woods October 21, 1990 - July 3, 2003
Loved and adored by
It is hard to believe it is now 5 years
since we lost you "4 White Paws." They say memories are
golden A million times I
needed you, In life I
loved you dearly, Still miss
all of your funny ways, little one,
The Woods Family xx
"Babygirl"
Thank you,
"Rusty"
Having two such
emotional losses within a week took a pretty heavy toll on both my mother
and me. Immediately after I went back to work, I began stopping in a
pet shop in the mall where I worked; it was more to have some kind of
contact with animals than it was actually looking for one to purchase.
A couple of days later, I was talking to the owner of the pet shop; she told
me I ought to buy a dog, seeing that my mom and I were pretty much alone.
I had always been a fan of Collies, the most beautiful, even-tempered dogs I
had ever known. The prices in that store, however, were out of sight! Even
with my employee discount, I would have had to pay about $350. As I was
leaving the store that day, a woman followed me out of the store, and asked
if I was really interested in a Collie. I told her I was. She said she
didn't have a Collie, but she did have a Sheltie mix she would sell for
fifty dollars. I took her phone number and went home to talk it over
with my mom. She was a little leery, but told me she would like to see this
dog. I called the lady, and went to pick him up for a visit. I was surprised
and a little disappointed to meet the dog whose name was Rusty. He was skin
and bones and absolutely covered with ticks. The family had three other
dogs, two Aussie shepherds and a Chihuahua. All three of the dogs picked on
Rusty, stealing his food and doing anything else they could think of to make
his life miserable. The people who owned him just didn't have time for a
fourth dog and couldn't protect him from the others. I took him home,
noticing for the first time (but not the last) he became verrrry carsick. After I got
him home, I also noticed how shy he was around strangers. We kept him
in the back yard, not wanting to risk infesting the house with all those
ticks. Here was where he began to shine. You know how most dogs, when you
offer them food from your hand, they'll try to take the food and your hand
with it? Well, not Rusty! He was so gentle taking some of Pepper's old food
from us, he seemed scared he might hurt us. He was so gentle around my
sisters' kids. He love to sit in front of somebody and put his paw up on
their knee. Even though we liked him, it was obvious he was not yet
comfortable with us. That evening
I took him back to the folks I got him from, and my mom and I discussed what
we should do. I don't even remember the gist of the conversation, only that
we agreed we would like to give Rusty a chance. The next day I told the
folks we would like to take Rusty, and made arrangements to pay them and
pick him up. I believe the date was August 9th, 1986: Rusty officially
became part of our lives. After we got
him, there were some rough times; the usual chewing of wood and anything
else he could get hold of; nothing serious, just annoying. However, we found
him to be a very quiet dog. Rarely barked. When he did bark, it was
important. He either had to go out NOW, or somebody unknown was around. It
was that fall, after the weather had changed to being rather pleasant,
Rusty's best qualities surfaced. I have been
a very severe juvenile diabetic since I was 5 years old. I have never (even
to this day) been able to control it as well as I would like. That October,
I decided to take Rusty on a trip to my sister's cabin in Strawberry,
Arizona. Strawberry is a beautiful little town in the pines atop the
Mogollon (mug-EE-yon) Rim in central Arizona. The drive there is
hazardous: Hairpin turns on cliffs several hundred feet high. While on the
drive up there, I began to have a pretty severe hypoglycemic reaction; I was
weaving all over the road and probably almost ran off the road several
times. I had no idea this was happening. Rusty, despite being extremely
carsick, realized something was extremely wrong. He gathered himself
together, wormed his way out of the seatbelt harness and climbed onto my
lap, forcing me to slow down and pull the car over to the side of the road.
I then realized what was going on. This dog, only two months into our
relationship, and not trained as any kind of service dog, had just saved my
life. If that were
the only time any such thing had happened, it would still be pretty
amazing. This dog made a habit of saving my neck. Whenever my blood sugar
would get low he would sense it. If I were sitting up, he would come up to
me and brush my leg with his paw. If I were asleep, he would stick his nose
into my face until I came to. In fact, in the early '90's when I was living
alone, there was a stretch of about 10 days when I was in the emergency room
5 times. Every single time Rusty woke me up, made sure I got on the phone to
get the paramedics, then waited by the door for them to arrive, occasionally
running back to my room to make sure I was okay. After that
episode, my mom and the rest of my family decided I needed to move back in
with her. Rusty, of course, came with me. He continued his role as my
guardian angel for the rest of his life. He died on March 15, 1999, after a
long bout with cancer. The most painful day of my life was the day I
realized he wasn't going to be alright. I think I knew he was very ill for
several weeks but was in denial. After we had him put to sleep I had him
cremated. His ashes are in my computer desk right now. All of my family
knows if anything ever happens to me, they are to put his urn in the coffin
with me. Ken
Thompson
Cosmo was a shy dog. In retrospect, he was probably a new soul that took
canine form. He was always a little frightened, reluctant, bewildered, but
he was as sweet and affectionate as any dog you'd meet. I was watching a
documentary on wolves, and of course, he ran out of the living room as he
always did because of their howls - and just about any other threatening
noise on TV, including suspenseful music - scared him. The documentary
described alpha males and beta males, and there was Cosmo at the bottom: the
omega, always rolling on his back to show his belly, and hoping you might
rub it.
Cosmo
wasn't a dog that was comfortable playing with toys or other dogs, though.
He loved chasing a tennis ball and kissing your face and sitting out on the
lawn. I used to joke he was half deer. He looked a bit like one.
I
realize now, too, how scared a dog he was. Every time there was
any unusual noise, he would react in some way - usually getting
up to run somewhere, to the depths of my office, the back of the
most sheltered bathroom - and I would look to make sure he knew
I knew he was okay. Some dogs protect their owners, with Cosmo
it was always the other way around. Slamming doors, drawers, and
dropping things would freak him out, and I got into the habit of
doing those things much more gently than my personality would
generally dictate.
"Nikki"
Jean, Wendy, Marianne and Tam Woods
I remember typing up the original posting for you on this site (Page
16).
That day tears were streaming down my face - pretty much the same as they
are still!
Well maybe that is true
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.
A million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
You never would have died.
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
No one could ever fill.
Always in our hearts and thoughts-
I lost my little
girl on Dec. 6th of this year. I am having a terrible time dealing
with this as I had her for almost 10 years February. She was run
over in her own yard, a totally a freak accident as her grandma
didn't see her. She lasted two days after surgery and just couldn't
stay any longer. She was my everything. She was like a shadow to my
every move. This has been very difficult; I can hear her almost
everywhere I turn, or I think I see her. She was very loved and
treasured. I just wanted to say thank you to your web site, because
it helped me this morning with the prayers and poems and stories.
This is my girl! Her name is Babygirl. We just took our first trip
to the ocean together on Thanksgiving.
Crystal
On July 25,
1986, my father passed away after nearly three decades of heart attacks and
strokes. Needless to say, my whole family was devastated, even though
we could see the signs of his end. At the time, I had a Golden
Retriever mix named Pepper, who, to be honest, was my Dad's dog more than he
was mine. He was kind of a wild dog, but gentle as a lamb when it came
to people. My dad talked so mean to and about that dog, but Pepper
just saw right through my dad's act, and knew Pop loved him just as
much. That dog just worshipped my dad. Exactly one week after my
father passed away, Pepper went to join him. It was a hot Arizona
summer, and the heat, along with Pepper's age (he was about 12) and the loss
of my dad, just killed him.
|
Lord Jameson of Rockmoor "Jamie" a.k.a. "Wormie"
Jamie, Wormie, Lord Jameson of Rockmoor, I miss you more than anything!! I can't believe you had to leave me at 8 years! We should have had four more years together. Life just isn't the same without you. Rest in peace, my
Soul Mate- |
|
|
Jamie was born in an Amish puppy mill in PA. I bought him at a pet store in Pt. Pleasant, NJ. He was the cutest little Sheltie pup I'd ever seen. He had a beautiful light sable head with a zig zag lightening blaze! And his body was mostly white! He had 3 sable patches; on one side a perfect circle, on the other a perfect heart and a small patch where his tail began. I always teased him about wearing his heart on his side! But Jamie really wore his heart in his eyes. They were the most beautiful golden brown color. And he would look at me as if he could see deep into my soul. He knew when I was sad even before I did! He would put his head on my knee and just stare into my eyes. There has never been a more loving friend to any human! When I brought him home at 8 weeks old, he was very afraid of people. It took him a long time to really trust me. I guess his baby puppy time was spent in a place where trust wasn't an option. He became such a wild man that he broke his leg at about 4 month old, and had to be put into a cast! Even that didn't slow him down! He looked like a poster child for a third world country in his purple cast! And he ran around on it so much, he had to have it redone twice before the 6 weeks were up! After that Jamie was never sick a day in his life. He went with me everywhere, and was always a gentleman. He never started a fight, and ignored dogs that wanted to start one. The only time he complained was when we stopped walking. He would give me a few minutes, then he would start to whine and moan. He could sing like bird! He would even sing on command when I wanted to him to show off! He was a wonderful friend, always listened to me even when I'd ramble on for hours. Poor fella! Jamie had started to get kind of tubby about a year ago, and he didn't seem to me to eat enough to be so tubby, so I took him to the vet for a thyroid test. It was negative. So I didn't worry about him, I just assumed that he was getting on in years and slowing down and getting chubby. But he also didn't have the energy he used to have. He was very quiet and spent a lot of time sleeping under the deck in the cool darkness. One day I took him to the beach to walk, and he wouldn't even get out of the car! That was really my first sign that something really bad was wrong. Dogs put up with so much discomfort and pain, sometimes you don't even know they are sick! So, I called the vet from my cell phone and we drove right there from the beach. The vet drew some blood, and told me it could be one of two things, a kidney infection or cancer. My heart fell to my feet. So we went home with antibiotics hoping it was a kidney infection. He seemed to be getting better for about 3 days, then all of a sudden got much worse. His gums were white and he couldn't even stand up! We rushed him to an emergency vet who drew some blood from his tummy with a syringe and said he had cancer. He said the white gums were a tell-tale sign of this kind of cancer. He had hemangiosarcoma. He was bleeding out into his tummy from the a tumor made up of blood vessels. That vet wanted to put him down right there, but I just couldn't make the decision that fast, and I needed a second opinion so we took him to our vet, and they did an ultrasound. It was cancer. I just couldn't believe it!! He had always been so healthy and strong, now he was dying! What the doctor said was that he wasn't in pain, but he would only get worse. He might scab over for a while and get some relief from the bleeding out, but eventually it would bleed again and he might just die right there from the extreme drop in blood pressure. This kind of cancer is very aggressive he said, and he would only have a short time. So my vet said I should take him home, and just make his last days as wonderful as possible, and put him down when I knew he was suffering; or if I wanted to, of course, I could do it now. Of course, I took him home. I think I cried the whole way!! I begged God to give me at least another week, just another week to say goodbye. Looking back, I wish I had asked for another 4 years!! I cooked for him and fed him tiny bits of roast beef I made for him, and bought any kind of canned food I thought he'd like. He did get better for a few days and he even ran and played with the other shelties again. I started to hope that the vets were all wrong and he was going to be just fine. Ten days after we found out what was wrong he started to bleed out again. I could tell. His gums were all white again, he couldn't walk straight, and he couldn't hold his bowels. He was so embarrassed! If there was any thing Jamie had, he had dignity. He looked so miserable, I knew it was time. He just lay on his favorite rug, looking at me as if to say "Mom, can't you do something? I don't feel good, Mom." If only I could have fixed him, I'd have given him every organ in my body if it could save him, but there isn't a cure for this type of cancer. Even chemo doesn't prolong it much. So the next morning I took him to the vet and held him in my arms, kissing tears all over his face, as the doctor took away all the fear and pain. His pain, anyway; mine was just beginning. We brought him home, wrapped his sweet body in a beautiful cotton blanket and buried him under a big pine in our front yard, right next to Mirky, our first sheltie who died earlier that summer of old age. Each of our little graves has an engraved river stone, and Jamie's says "Jameson Wilson Worm, my Heart and Soul". I stop there and say hello very often. I still miss him every day. I really can't believe he is gone. I love you so much my Wormie!! |
|
|
Rockmoor's Echo of Jameson "Sammie" a.k.a. "Schmoo"
|
You were so sick in that body of yours, your soul needed to be free of it. I couldn't watch you suffer any more, so I set you free. At least I hope that's what I did... We never really know, do we? I hope you are now running without pain, playing in the leaves and being able to keep up with all the other doggies that are where you are. Wait for me Schmoo... I'll be looking for you when I get there, my beautiful Sammie!! Mandy |
Sheltie Angels Page Thirty-Six