Dusty was born on the day we moved into our house.  We vowed to get a dog when we moved out of the apartment and into a house, and it just happened that he was born that day, just for us we thought.  We brought him home on October 17^th, 1987.  He was so cute, white and so small.  He was our first baby.

When he was a puppy we kept him in a playpen to keep him safe when we were at work.  He still managed in his spare time to chew the carpet, the corner of the hutch and rip the wallpaper.  We forgave him and thought this is part of having a puppy!  When he was 6 month old he chased a boy down the street, on his bike, so we knew he was going to be feisty!  I was alone at night as Daddy was at work, so we wanted him to be a little bit of a watch dog and boy he was!  No one even walked by our house without him knowing about it…Bark, Bark, Bark!  People used to say it sounded like we had a Doberman in the house, but we said “No, that is just our cockapoo, Dusty!”  They should have heard him when he barked and chased me whenever I vacuumed… He hated the vacuum and I only had to say “Oh, I think I will vacuum” and he went crazy! 

He always had a chew bone with him at all times and just loved chewing them.  He loved playing with all his dog toys, especially his yellow tennis ball and his play toy “hamburger”.  His favorite treat was raw carrots and we used to keep a bowl in the fridge for him too.  Dusty also loved BEER!  If someone had a can out he would find a way to get his tongue in there and get as much as he could before getting caught!  When we made turkeys or roast he would camp out at the stove until it was done and he would get some “treats”.  After the kids got older he would love “taco nights” as the kids would spill a lot and he would “vacuum” the floor for hours.  When he was younger he loved to go for car rides but as he got older, that changed, as it meant he was going to the vet or the groomers.  When he was still able to get up on the couch, he sat there all day and looked out the window.  When we were gone and came home we always knew if someone had been there because the rug at the back door was all over the place.

We were here, just with him, until October 18^th, 1990 when Daddy brought home a kitty named Tiger.  Dusty did not know what to think of him.  They were buds, but never best friends.  Tiger used to chase him and bite him in the butt and he never even snapped at him in all those years.  One day though, I had a pound of deli turkey on the counter and Tiger, who was not allowed on the counter and never went on, jumped up and pushed it on the floor and he and Dusty were gobbling it down when I walked in.  We always said that must have been Dusty’s idea and they could talk to each other.  On July 19^th, 1993 and August 22^nd, 1995 our children, Rachael and Jordan were born.  Dusty was always good with them but he was never attached too much to them, as we had him for quite awhile before they came along.  Dusty was Mommy’s baby but he seemed to like Daddy the best!  He could hear his truck coming down the street and would go nuts!

He slept in our bed, next to Mommy, until a couple of years before we lost him.  It was just not safe as he was not as strong and he kept falling out of the bed.  We got him his own bed and blanket and he slept in our room.

The last year we had him he was really starting to fail.  He just seemed to be running out of steam.  We put up gates because he kept falling down the stairs and moved his food dishes upstairs.  He had trouble walking on the tile and would keep spilling his food and water.  Mommy put a rug in front of his food dish so he could stand to eat.  We would find him, in corners, all over the house and he did not know how to get out, due to confusion and losing his sight.  He also had lost the use of his bladder and had many accidents in the house and the last month they were getting worse, due to the cold weather we think.   People said maybe we should put him to sleep but I could not, not yet, as I did not think he was in any pain.  When we got out his chain to go outside, he looked like he could just cry; he would shiver right away at the thought of having to go out in the cold. 

The early AM hours of November 26^th, Daddy woke me and said come out here and I knew it was bad.  He was having a seizure and I sat with him and it lasted over an hour.  I finally ran him over to the vet at 3:30AM.  He was biting his tongue and I managed to get a cloth in, but it killed me watching him suffer like that, even though the vet said he would never remember it.  They gave him meds and the seizure stopped but when I looked into his eyes, they were glazed, and I could see he was just not “there” anymore.  The vet said his heart was full of fluid, probably from the seizure.   The said in old age, a lot of dogs will have a seizure when a major organ shuts down.  We decided to not do all the tests and meds and put him through more pain.  We decided to put him to sleep and I sat with him and petted him while the vet gave him the shot.  The vet said he did not even have all the meds in and he was gone, so he was very close to going on his own, even without the shot.  I just could not see him have that seizure again, even for one second.  I sat with him for a while and then kissed him good-bye and had to leave.  That was the worst feeling, walking out of there without him.  It was 4:00AM.

These days and weeks at times have been unbearable, as we miss him so much.  I keep telling myself that he is happy now and can run again.  I will love and remember him forever and hope to see him again one day!  I k now we will welcome another fur friend in our life, but it will be in honor of ^Dusty^, that we loved him so much that we had to share that love with another animal.  Kisses to our furangel and we will never forget you.  LOVE YOU!