Saturday 2 April 2016

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall....

Rest in Peace Old Boy, we really loved you.
It was October of 2000. A small brown puppy was born in a suburb north of us. We hadn't met him yet but we would. We had no idea how our life would change.

November 2000 I was diagnosed with MS. I was 50 years old and to say the least I was surprised. Being the pragmatic person I am I decided to milk it for all it was worth.  We had an older dog, Bluey. He was lovely. He was 12 years old and after spending years doing dog obedience and agility, having beach days, loving this dog, he was slowing down.  We needed a puppy to get him feeling young again. Enter Wally.  The day I went looking for puppies there were none to be found. The dog's home didn't have any, the
RSPCA didn't have any.  I did what I would probably never do again, I turned to the classified ads.  I read "10 puppies for sale. 8 Female- 2 Male. Call 1-800-xxx-xxxxx." I did. A used car dealer answered the call. I had heard of him and he was a bit shoddy. However I was determined.  I went to see the puppies on my lunch hour from where I worked at Disability Services. It was very nearby.

Wally at 8 weeks. A stuffy body, dachshund legs and a jack russell head.




As I walked into the car dealership I saw a box in the corner. One puppy had his head sticking up. The other 9 were asleep. I told the man I wanted a boy. I think boy dogs are smoochier. What kind of dogs are they?  Well, the father was a staffordshire terrier crossed with adachshund. The mother was a full Jack Russell. There were 8 small puppies who didn't stir much from sleep. But there was one big fat tummied puppy ready for life.

I didn't have to think twice as I picked the squirming bundle up, paid the man and took him back to work.

Our old dog Bluey taught Wally a lot and Wally loved him.

Life for him was to be very full, lots of fun, with lots of jobs he made for himself and he was like the chefs on the Bake Off shows when it came to food. He loved his food then and he never stopped eating his way through life.

Wally thought Bluey was the wisest dog on earth and they
doted on each other.





Fifteen and a half years have now passed and I am sorry to say Wally departed from his life, in his own bed, with his fuzzy blanket and with everyone he loved surrounding him.  The grief has been solid and we are only now coming out of it.  I know, people say "he was just a dog" but we don't have kids, we don't have family in Australia and our animals are our family.
Once Bluey passed away Wally became the "dog of the house" and
he took his responsibilities seriously. He decreed the beach
was the place everyone should hang out the most.

Fortunately we still have Odie and Molly, our other two dogs and our two cats, Uncle Buck and Cousin Eddie but all of us are a little bit lost because Wally seemed to manage the household in his own way and we sure miss him.



We are happy though we were there for him in the end and he never suffered any pain. He went downhill one sunny morning in a matter of hours and we didn't let him linger. This post is for you Wally.
He loved Christmas. Bluey had taught him how to open gifts and he
was good at it.
When the dog's home gave us a litter of very young puppies to foster for 
a few weeks Wally took over and taught them manners. They loved him. That is
our little Odie at the back of the picture on the mat.

The puppies went back to the dog's home when they were 
old enough for adoption.  We kept Odie. Wally accepted Odie from the start and
tolerated his questions, his playfulness and hours of being silly together.
He taught him to eat as much as you can, play with every toy and love the
beach. Get along with others and always be good. You're family now, be respectful.

Wally in his final years. He turned into a grand old master and we won't
ever forget him. His ashes are with us now and one day maybe we'll all 
be together again. 

25 comments:

  1. I am so sorry to hear about your loss. He seems to have been a wonderful fellow. Beautiful pictures where his character comes out. I feel I know him from your description and the photos.

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    1. Thank you Lisbeth. He was truly a wonderful fellow however a bit bossy.

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  2. I'm so sorry for you. But what a wonderful life he's had.
    There's no such thing as "just a dog or cat" for me. They are fur people with just as much character as any of us.
    I hope that grief is not treating you too harshly.

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    1. I know, I love animals so much and often much more than the human race. They are simply lovely.

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  3. I'm so sorry, Pam - their loss leaves such holes in our hearts and our lives. And however long is never long enough.

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    1. I keep telling myself that 15 years of joy for a few months of sorrow. They are so worth it in every way.

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  4. So very sorry to hear that - I know how you must be feeling.We lost our lovely rescue dog just 5 weeks ago and we're still feeling absolutely devastated. He was only with us for three years but made such a difference to our lives. I'm trying to focus on the fantastic times we had together but it's still really hard.Your pets are obviously dearly loved and you have given them a great life so that's what we have to remember at the end.
    Congratulationg on your blog and keep up the good work. Diana XXX ( Barcelona Spain - originally from the UK)

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    1. I am sorry about your rescue dog. We truly are gluttons for punishment but the joy is so great when they are with us. Worth the pain. Thank you for dropping in from Barcelona. We were there in June and loved it. My husband's fluent Spanish made it so enjoyable as he doesn't get much of a chance to speak it here in Australia.

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  5. Pam, I don't know what I can add to the two comments above. The animals who live with us are family and the grief is as real and as shattering as losing a human, maybe more sometimes because we spend so much time with our pets. We moved to Philadelphia ten years ago with an Irish Wolfhound and six cats. Within months, the Wolfhound and the oldest cat were gone. Between Christmas and New Year, we put our last cat to sleep. Our house is full of ghosts and we both tear up when memories are too sharp. Wally was lucky to have been a part of your obviously loving family, as you were lucky to have had his company and love. I like that he seemed to be smiling in most of the photos.

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    1. Thank you Joan . We are still lucky enough to have our other two dogs and cats and enjoy them very much. I cannot imagine life without an animal sharing our house. I have never been without a dog in my 60 plus years except when I was in University. Just love them.

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  6. condolences. sometimes i believe losing a pet is worse than losing a person; it has to do with unconditional love, i think. such a gap they leave in our lives...

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    1. It really is hard to lose them but what joy while they are with us. Thanks for your comment.

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  7. You wrote such an inspiring and fascinating saga of Wally's life, which showed so many facets of his personality. The photos and your story brought him to life. What a wonderful dog, so full of spirit. How lucky we dog lovers are to have this remarkable species for our companions in life. My thoughts are with you today.
    Judith (Reader in the Wilderness)

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    1. Thanks Judith. It is funny how so many of my bookish friends love animals. They seem to go hand in hand (so to speak). Thank you for stopping by.

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  8. I am so sorry about Wally. A warm and loving tribute to a wonderful dog.

    What fun and joy our darling pets give us.

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  9. A good, happy life with a loving family -- always so hard to say that farewell.

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  10. I'm so sorry Pam. You were blessed with a lovely dog, and I will give Briar an extra hug for his sake when I go home tonight.

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    1. I think that is the best thing you can do. Briar will love it.

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  11. Kind of hard to see the screen through my tears. So lovely to read and see the pictures of Wally's life.

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  12. Thanks Thomas. So many years of pure joy but very hard when it ends. But more than worth it. Take good care of Lucy.

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  13. It's been a while since I've visited so I'm late with this notice. It's still amazing to me just how profoundly our dogs can touch our lives.

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    1. Thank you James. We really miss him. He ran our household and we still feel like we are at loose ends with him gone. Thank goodness we have the other two dogs or we would be lost.

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