You'll probably remember Chooch as my Border Collie, the recipient of numerous credit offers and mailers from various sources. Previous post have included several examples that begged the question, "Who's reading your mail?"
We laid Chooch down this morning. Her health had slid dramatically in the last month or two, and she had lost half her weight lately. Chooch had been having difficulty walking the last few days, and had not eaten either. She had been laying in my office, or in her corner of the dining room, and this morning, we took her to the vet to see what was going on.
After examining Chooch, the vet told us that we had come to the point where a decision had to be made. We could get her appetite back, but she probably wound not be able to walk again. After much soul searching, and a good amount of tears, we decided it would be best to allow Chooch a peaceful and gracious ending to her life.
I adopted Chooch from the Broward County SPCA in Fort Lauderdale back in October of 1998. My son and I had gone to look for a dog for me, since he and his mother had gotten custody of the two dogs we had at the time. I had a border collie back in my college days, and Snoopy had lived to the ripe old age of 17 before her time had come. After looking at several dogs, I was unable to find one that I liked, and as we were walking out, I saw a sign on one of the pens that said "Choo Choo, female Border Collie". I asked the aide who was showing us the dogs where this one was, as that was exactly the kind of dog I wanted, and was told that another family was with her and preparing to adopt her. As we approached the door, in came this adorable little black and white hound, and I instantly said, "Don't put her back, I'll take her!" My son and I went out to prepare the paper work, and he picked out a bright red collar for her to wear home. Ten years later, the collar remains, with her license and tag still attached.
Over the years, Chooch has been more of a roommate than a pet. She often slept in the other bedroom, and at times seemed to be a bit of a recluse, but always came out to say hello to a visitor. She enjoyed riding in the car, especially with the window open, and seemed to enjoy the times we took her out on the boat we had in Florida. She was never much of a swimmer, and seemed to have a distinct dislike of the water. In her later years, she would hop when she barked, and Chooch never ceased to be a delight, even lately when things weren't the best for her. She was my companion through the hard times, and I like to think that she may even have saved my sanity, giving me something to care about when nothing really mattered.
I'll be constantly reminded of Chooch, each time her name shows up on the caller ID in my office, or whenever a piece of mail comes addressed to her name. Ten years together seems to have flown by, and I will miss her terribly. God bless you Chooch, and thank you for the best years of MY life!
