|
'Dutch' 2002 - 2003 |
| In the short period of time
that Dutch was in our lives, he touched us very deeply. The best time of
the day was in the morning when Dutch first opened his eyes and was focused.
He was very cuddly and loved to hug, and then in usual Border Collie style
he was off to the races.
Dutch’s favourite activity was to play fetch and tug. He would play with just about anything whether it was a rope Kong, ball, plastic bottle, or a stinky stuffed animal. He was very happy and relaxed during his play sessions. One of Dutch’s favourite places to be was at the vet clinic I work at. He went to work with me on most days and not only enjoyed the company of the staff, but he also enjoyed meeting new doggy friends and giving his friend O’Malley a big hug (clinic cat). Up to about 5 months of age, Dutch seemed like a normal BC puppy, but symptoms of his illness started to surface at this point. Dutch was becoming mentally ill. He was anxious almost all of the time. His anxiety was displayed as pacing, circling, fly snapping, and outward aggression towards people. He just could not tell the difference between real and imaginary dangers causing him to act in unpredictable ways. There was little improvement in Dutch’s condition even on anti-depressant medications. Here is an excerpt from a story about two traveling angels that sums up our experience with the Dutchman: Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every out come is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later... Some people
Some people
Leaving beautiful
and we are
Dutch will be missed by Liane, Hedde, Ebony and Kes |