Murphy
Adopted March 15, 1991
Passed away January 14, 1999
Veronica and I adopted Murphy on St. Patrick's day in 1991 at the pet
orphanage in Desert Hot Springs, CA. We looked around for a long time
at all the deserving animals up for adoption until I came upon Murphy
and I knew he was the one. I said to Veronica "I want him, he's so ugly
he's cute!" they almost didn't let us adopt him that day because he
hadn't been examined yet; someone had tied him to the gate and left
him. Anyway, they made an exception and we got our boy!
He had one ear
that flopped over and the other one stood tall and straight. At first he
was afraid of almost everything- going up stairs, going down stairs,
getting on the bed, getting off the bed and- water. He soon learned to
love the water and we'd take him to the river or beach where he'd splash
and swim for hours. He also loved squeaky toys, walks and most of all
Veronica- he was devoted to her and we both loved him very much.
Veronica was the first to say "He's the best dog we ever had!" and she
was right!. He was happy, intelligent and very loving. He understood
much of what was said even in casual conversation, which is how we
eventually came to talk to him- no commands, just conversation.
Last
June I took him to the vet for a check up and he was found to have
enlarged kidneys. We then took him to a specialist who diagnosed him
with a slow growing form of cancer and thought he would have about a
year to live. We were devastated! But we coped- and we cared for him
and we loved him. Well, Murphy didn't make it for that year but he did
have seven good months with us.
The night before he died he came home
from the vet's and he was the best I'd seen him in a long time- he was
like a puppy again! He was happy and playful and energetic again! He
played catch in the house with his favorite toy for hours on end, we
went for a long walk and he roamed the empty lot behind the house for a
long time, just sniffing and looking around. And we just sat together
and hugged and talked and scratched and petted- he comforted me too!
I
think Murphy knew he was dying and he wanted to do all the things he
loved just one more time. Murphy passed away today- January 14, 1999 at
1:10 PM; he was eight an one half years old. He was the most loving,
sweetest dog I've ever known, He was a good ole boy and Veronica was
right- "He's the best dog we ever had!"
We love you and miss you Boy
Dog! We'll never forget you.
Don and Veronica (Mom & Dad)