Friday, May 27, 2022, MN

Thank God I have a whole package of giant pee pads and lots of baby wipes on hand. I lined Frisco’s bed and tucked him in last night and I heard him moving around a bit at 3:30 and found that he had peed, so I cleaned him up, changed the pad and tucked him back in. He was still sound asleep at 8:30 this morning.  Same thing - cleaned him up and changed the pad under him. He has no objection to me picking him up and carrying him (he has never liked to be carried) and his legs are giving him no support - he immediately collapses from a standing position. He doesn’t appear to be in pain or anxious, as he has eaten and taken treats and water and he is not panting.

I was able to get an appointment with the Vet for x-rays but the person I spoke with seemed to think that since he has tested positive for Lyme disease (it can lay dormant in the body) in the past and his symptoms kind of sound like that - if that rings true, he could be treated with antibiotics.  She is going to discuss that with the vet when she comes in and we will see how that goes.

When the Vet checked Frisco out, she determined that it probably wasn’t Lyme disease as that causes some weakness me stiffness in joints but not total collapse or loss of control. Her thoughts then focused on general weakness internally - the heart murmur, possible kidney failure, and his age. X-rays and blood tests could be run to determine what is going on, but my focus has always been that he have quality of life.   So I decided that today was the day to put him to rest.  I know that he wasn’t comfortable being unable to walk on his own and he put his total trust in me and allowed me to carry him everywhere for the last two days. He died at 12:30 this afternoon, I was right by his side and reassuring him what a good a dog he is and how much I love him.

That little dog was loved by so many people and they are coming out of the woodwork to let me know.  I tried to collect my thoughts this afternoon and this is what I came up with - subject to future editing.

Fifteen and a half years with this little guy have left a mark on me that I will never forget. He is the first little dog that we ever had and he stole my heart immediately.  His job was to keep Mike moving, but he and I ended up to be the best of walking buddies.  He has comforted me through hard times and been by my side in all of our travels.  He made friends with lots of people and their pets - had the best of manners and was allowed in homes of family and friends who weren’t really that fond of dogs.

He lived up to the many names that he had through the years; Scruffy, Dude, Frisco, Frisky, Buddy, Frisky-butt, Osama Bin Frisco, Muttley, Dog, etc. 

Since the day that he rescued us from Wonder Dog Rescue in San Francisco in 2007, he has been:

🐾  A constant traveling companion

🐾 By my side through thick and thin

🐾 The best friend I could ever have and friend to many others

🐾 Loved me unconditionally

I will miss:

🐾 His sniffing under the bathroom door to check that I am ok

🐾 Being my shadow whenever I left the room

🐾 Sleeping next to my bed

🐾 ’The stare’ to let me know that he needed or wanted something

🐾 Picking the goodies out of his food before eating the kibble

🐾 Making sure that he got a treat after every trip outdoors or a nail trim or ear cleaning

🐾 The endless supply of blonde hairs that marked where he had been

🐾 His messy blonde Mohawk

🐾.   His watching over me from corners

🐾 My walking and hiking companion 

🐾 His eagerness to be friends with everyone, as long as they weren’t in the Pit Bull family or 

             were small critters that moved quickly

 I have been blessed with fifteen and a half years of his company.

I went to be with Jill and the girls tonight and it helped me to dry the tears for a while.  Of course, they are hoping that I get another pet. Charlotte went for a sleepover with her friend Betsy, and I asked what they would be doing at the sleepover and her reply was “the usual sleepover stuff; watch romance movies that are rated PG13, eat lots of junk food, and stay up until midnight”.  She posed for a photo with her sullen look and her big girl suitcase that I bought her for their Mexico trip  - my 10 year old teenage Granddaughter.