Wednesday, August 3, 2016

It's Been A Hard Year. Goodnight Piper

  A little over a month ago we lost our sweet girl Piper.
 

 My friend Lori had bought Piper, a border collie who turned out to have nervous problems.She was afraid of everything.When left in an outside pen she constantly dug. Lori had made her a pen in the barn. That was no life for her, so Lori was looking to rehome her. Fuzzy had been begging for a dog for ages. I went to Lori's one day and, as happens a lot when I go there, I came home with an animal. On our way to her house Lori was trying to pump up Piper's good points. I asked how big this dog was, and Lori assured me she was "Homie sized", Homie being the small basenji/shetland sheepdog mix dog my family had from the time I was a kid to my early twenties. I got attached to the idea of taking Piper before I saw her. When I did I saw that she was not "Homie sized". Instead she was a huge dog,almost regular collie size. And she wasn't finished growing yet. But I had gotten used to the idea that I was taking her, so I did. To this day "Homie sized" is used around here to describe something huge.
    I brought Piper home shortly before her first birthday. (Actually, I came home with two animals. I also brought home our bunny Gabriel that summer day. Luckily Ken was indisposed when I got home, throwing his guts up in the bathroom. So I didn't get yelled at too much.) Piper was our first dog as a family. Emma and Fuzz were in elementary school, and Ivy was just a toddler. So the kids grew up with Piper.
  She was a sweet dog that seldom barked, and was afraid of strangers despite her size.  When we first brought her home, Pipe hid under furniture for two weeks. Over time we learned that she did not play fetch, but she liked to tussle. She liked rough play. When she got really excited during play, she would stray off to quickly but lightly bite a pillow or piece or furniture, before jumping back in to play.When she played like this her face looked so fierce, but we knew she would never hurt us. She was so smart that when she was told to 'go to the kitchen' or 'go downstairs' she just did it.
Piper went camping with us.Here she is, comfy with Ken.
  Piper hated to ride in the car. It made her so nervous she often peed. (She also peed if she got yelled at for something. It made me have to be quiet and gentle with her, which was good, because I tend to lose my temper and yell. It was good for me.) When we got our camper van though, Piper LOVED to ride in it. If she walked by when the door was open she was in it before we could stop her.  Dad's chihuahua Tiny was scared to death of cars. While he lived with us they rode to the vet's in the van, Tiny sitting between Piper's front legs, where he felt safe.

   Piper had a stroke last November. She actually didn't eat for most of a week after her stroke, and wasn't able to walk for 2 weeks. We figured she was on her way out, but she was in no apparent pain, so we were letting her go the natural way. After about 4 days Ken was able to temp her with some chicken and Ivy got her to eat some cheese. She was on her way back. She wore doggy diapers for a couple of weeks and had to lay on pee pads. Yes, it was messy, but if Pipe was prepared to make the effort, so would we. After a couple of weeks Pipe was back on her feet. She had some hip trouble anyway, so it was rough going for her. I bought her some joint medicine for elderly dogs, and she did improve. She was moving pretty well for a couple of months, but then her health began to decline again. Finally, we had to let her go.  She would have been fourteen this month.
Piper last April, before her health began to fail.
  Goodnight Pipey.

14 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry for your loss :( I lost my shih-tzu this summer as well. She would've been 14 this year, too.

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    1. Thank you.I'm sorry for you too. 14 years is a long time to love someone.Losing them after so long is so hard.

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  2. Aww, I'm sorry. The BTEG family has lost several beloved pet cats, and a couple of hamsters. It's never easy.

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    1. Thank you. I lost my beloved parakeet Irving in January. I'm still not over it.

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  3. So sad to hear about Piper. Pets are part of the family. It looks like she had a wonderful life.

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  4. WOW, so sorry! Pets can be better friends than people!

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  5. I feel so sorry for you and your family :( I know it's a hard time for you Guys, so hang in there! I lost my dog Hektor almost two years ago, he past away in my arms. And I remember, that someone told me "don't cry, he had a good live by your side"... Just like your Pipey! Much love to you!

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    1. Thank you. We were with Pipe when she went to sleep at the vet's. One of the hardest things I ever had to do, but she was suffering and had no chance of getting better. Normally I would never put an animal to sleep, and I still feel guilty about it, but there were problems and she would have gone in a few days, suffering the whole time.I decided after my bird Irving died in January that I would never get any more pets. We still have a lot of animals, so it will be a while before we have none, but I will never get any more.

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  6. I'm really really sorry that Piper has gone.....but it sounds like she was happy with you and your family. When we lose our furry or feathered family members they always take a part of our hearts with us. Sending big hugs xxx

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    1. Thank you. They are part of the family and it feels like losing a person.

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