Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/08/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Sorry to hear that. Seemingly a great dog. Shows in the photos, too. Philippe Op 4-aug-06, om 08:33 heeft Peter Klein het volgende geschreven: > The best dog I've ever known is gone, my friend and companion of 13 > years. > > http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/HarpoLapBW5.jpg > http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/harpolean.htm > http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/paula_harpo.htm > http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/E1/P4190807Harpo.jpg > > Harpo was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago. Katya and I > managed to keep him alive and happy for those three years despite > the odds. All it took was insulin shots twice a day, a special > diet, the same amount of exercise each day, a lot of love, and mass > quantities of money to our vet. It was worth every bit of effort > and every penny. > > Harpo had a terrier-beagle heritage, with the most endearing > combination of terrier intelligence and feistiness, and beagle > sweetness and eagerness to please. Once we got his blood sugar > levels stable, he was pretty much the same dog he'd always been. > There were changes--no more table scraps, and no more hiking in the > mountains with us. But he adjusted gracefully, and still found joy > in what he could do. His condition required that he "go out" > frequently, and he learned to use a doggie door at age 10, proving > that you *can* teach an old dog new tricks. > > Harpo was a "people dog." His greatest joy was just being with us > and participating in everything we did. Once, during a walk with > my in-laws, he refused to go home with only my mother-in-law, > sitting and refusing to budge until my father-in-law came out of > the library. This prompted my father-in-law to proclaim ever after > in his thick Russian accent, "Kharpo hez femily values." My mother- > in-law called him an "exquisite creature." > > Harpo loved everyone, licked everyone , and greeted his extra- > special friends with a cross between a howl, a yodel and a > Wagnerian high C. Every evening when I came home from work, he > would curve his body into a C-shape and rub his side against me, > making sure I knew I was the most important person in the world. > Most of my evening LUG posts were written with him lying at my > feet, or more likely, *on* them. > > He was fine on Sunday, Monday he stopped eating. Tuesday he could > barely walk. Today a test result showed that his liver was failing > rapidly, probably a long-term result of the diabetes. He had only > a few days of painful decline left if we did nothing, so we did the > kind thing. And I did a lot of crying tonight. > > --Peter > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >