I'll start with this...this is one big post. I'm usually not this wordy, but I felt compelled to put what I am experiencing. I've learned life can be great and fun, it also isn't always easy, and sometimes it's just down right difficult.....this is one of "those" times.
I spent my morning time with Spike, my Sheltie and oldest dog. He turned 15 in May. His health is failing quickly in many ways. Last year he was diagnosed with Cushings disease. The most obvious sign he shows is he is unable to grow hair back, his skin is constantly flaky and he has a hard time healing if he gets a scratch. I can only imagine that he has to itch like crazy. We give him baths to help soothe his skin. I just pray he doesn't loose too much more hair. He was known in his litter as the Sheltie with enough coat for two. To see him now with a little more than his top coat is very sad. Spike has been such a trooper his whole life. He got pnuemonia when he was younger from trying to save me from the dreaded sprinkler in the yard. He also has been hypo-thryridic for 10 years and that has brought its own share of troubles to his life. Through it all he has lived with enthusiasm.
We've had an incredible journey with Spike. He and his 5 other litter mates were born at my home to Chloe when I was 20. That was an experience I'll never forget and always cherish. I enjoy his tenacity and his hard head, I'll admit it frustrated me in his younger years. What I lacked in experience then was I needed to understand where he was coming from. I picked him out of the litter for many reasons, but the one that sticks out today is when I had put them on ducks at 10 weeks old. In a word...ciaos! He had cornered the ducks and was not going to let them go. One of the ducks, named Pirate, yes, he had a black patch over his eye to go with that name, decided to give this fluffy overly bossy pup a talking to. So there they were, Spike and Pirate engaging in which I am quite sure was trash talking between the species. I imagine that Spike was saying something like your quack is broken and your mother was a goose or whatever a duck would find insulting. I went in and removed him from the pen and he was still telling that scally wag of a duck where he could go. Oh Spike, you do always have to get the last word in.
We played Flyball for 5 years and this is where I learned that positive/clicker training worked so much better with the Shelties than what we had been doing. As I am sure you can guess they weren't the fastest dogs, Chloe and Spike, but they did it with grace and beauty. Too bad that didn't get the team extra points. We all relished being apart of a team and working together, good times we had, good times.
A couple of young rescue dogs graced our home....I must add, and smelled it up at the same time. You don’t have a dog with generalized demadetic mange and not smell it! Spike didn’t care that you could see more skin than hair. He showed them they could play, what a great little ambassador he was for them. He would impatiently wait for me to put on the rescue dog’s winter coats before a walk, he lived for our walks.
Life throws curve balls, and I am no exception, a job offer came my way and we moved to Oregon. All the dogs love our place, space to run, tons to explore and smell. Our first few days here Spike was nose to the ground to smell every cat, squirrel, and anything else that crossed through our yard. What a blessed opportunity we could give our companions.
Our herding was an opportunity for me to learn....and I had best do it fast. It was clear to Spike that he knew it all! That stubborn streak in him reared its head. Not enough feel for sheep, and far too much gotta keep the sheep movin’ regardless of what mom says. Augh! This was my first opportunity to learn to read sheep. How in the world do you do that? Was really all I was thinking. I was a city girl, well kinda. I knew about rabbits, not sheep and for the record, they don’t move the same. As Chloe and Spike aged and arthritis got worse we closed the herding book for the two of them. Time well spent and I would do it all again, even with Shelties.
I have been unable to engage in my regular hobbies as I was in a car accident about 5 weeks ago. No herding, no yoga, nothing active.....driving me nuts is what it has done. Ahhh but that story is for another day. A friend had informed me of a T-Touch class going on and left the message of surely you can come sit and listen. I had heard of it before but didn’t know any particulars. I thought can’t hurt to hear more about it. It’s therapy via touch. It’s more complicated than that but for this entry I’ll leave it at that. I found the class and it’s participants very interesting. All had different experiences & reasons that brought them to this class but all were coming for the same outcome. To be able to deepen their bond with their canine(s). Spike ended up being one of the demo dogs and I believe he enjoyed it, he seems a little perkier today. I can’t say if it was for sure the class or the fact that he got to go for a ride and check out a new place. It’s all good in my view to see my little man enjoying life more than he has been.
I think back to all the cherished moments I have enjoyed and the ones I am still afforded by having Spike in my life, my only request would be that our canine companions live longer. Its far too soon when they leave us. This is not meant to be an obituary....I go in and out of being able to talk about it. I find myself needing more quiet time to think, reflect and listen to what the right thing to do is. I am taking time for myself to sit and reflect on all we’ve been through and were his health is at today. This is how I am prepping myself to deal with the very real question that Doug and I will most likely have to answer sooner than we want to...when little buddy, is the right time for you to go.
How do you say good bye to a loving companion......I don't think I will say good bye....I will say I'll see you again my friend and until we meet once more, know that I did my absolute best to give you all the love and care possible.
Wylie and Spike playing at our Everett house
Spike is the one in the middle - 8 weeks old
Chloe 2 yrs & Spike 10 weeks
15 years old - and as handsome as ever.
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And last but not least Freeloader and her beautiful baby
