Wednesday February 19, 2020

We lost a member of our pack today - the Great and Wonderful Oz.

Chow chows are not high on my list of dog breed, not a breed I would choose. But 10 years ago the universe decided we needed this Chow. Or maybe he needed us. On Thanksgiving Day, 2009, he was dumped in our front yard at Ola Lola's (there is a special corner of Hell for people who just abandon animals by the side of the road). Chows have a reputation for being aggressive but this guy was the most shy, timid Chow we'd ever seen. He would lie in the grass in front of Ola Lola's until any person would come by. Then he'd get up and disappear to a little den he created for himself in the jungle by our fence. For weeks every time a car went by he would sit up and look to see if his humans were coming back for him.

We put food and water out for him. Over time he came to trust Elaine and our friend Mary and would take food from their hands. But as soon as the other hand moved, he was up and gone. We could see he was sick and wanted to take him to the vet. It took us until March to "catch" him so we could get him treated -  even after four months it wasn't easy!

Elaine did catch him. We got him to the vet, treated him for just about every know parasite including heart worm, and eventually got him healthy. Slowly, he became part of our pack. I took him to the beach with Amber and Jazz. He had his own beach walk agenda that had nothing to do with ours. If he decided he was done for that day, he'd turn around and head home by himself. Amber, Jazz and I would come home and find him laying in the barport.

For a while at night he liked to be put out front on a rope. One night I heard him barking at the gate. I checked on him. There he was, sitting at the gate, waiting to be let in. From that night on he stayed in the yard and the house. He was truly part of the pack.

After Amber died after the hurricane. when I took Oz to the beach, he would go to their favorite spot and look for them. Even though they were never, close buds, they were still "family."

Over the past couple of years, Oz's hips and back legs have slowly gotten worse. For the last few months he's needed help getting up to eat or get a drink or do his business. He would back to ask for help. In the past couple of weeks even with help he could barely get up or stand. He lost most of his hearing and his sight wasn't good. Sometimes he seemed confused about where he was. Still, we waited for him to tell us when it was time.

Three nights ago he started having seizures. He pretty much lost control of his sphincters. Beginning yesterday morning and through last night, he gave us very clear signs he was done with it. He stopped eating. He stopped trying to get up. He stopped barking for help.

This morning our vet came to the farm and helped us help him. His spirit is now running with Amber and Jazz and our friends' boxer Charlie. No more pain. No more confusion.

Thank you, Oz, for being such an amazing wonderful part of our lives. We miss you already but have 10 years of awesome memories. Rest now. You deserve it.