I made the original offer because I have a very soft spot in my heart for elderly dogs, especially elderly Chihuahuas. I think I acquired the soft spot because of my chi-mix, Spud, who crossed the Bridge in 1994 at the age of 15 (almost 16). I helped her endure the years of old age and made her as comfortable as possible as I saw the many changes that the years had caused. Not just a few gray hairs but muscle stiffness, deafness, cataracts, breast tumors (she had never been spayed, but was never a mom either), fatty tumors, intolerance for either cold or heat and hard surfaces. She even got to the point where, if there was not a soft spot to lie down on, she prefered to stand. We bought $3000.00 worth of air conditioning just for her (we still loved the ceiling fans and fresh air, but Spud could no longer tolerate it). She had congestive heart failure the last 2 years of her life for which she had to be medicated daily. Stresses such as an overnight trip somewhere took its toll on her, so they had to be curtailed. When I look back on all this I shudder in horror at the thought that she could have ended up with some other family who would not have been so patient, easy with her and sensitive to her special needs. I'm so glad she had a nice, quiet and serene home where she could live out her days, and a lap to enjoy anytime she wanted it, and a big, king-sized bed at night where she could cuddle up with her family. I guess all this is why I was so anxious to give Mindy a nice, comfortable and quiet home where she could live out the rest of her time in peace and happiness.

As it turned out, a family in Georgia was kind enough to adopt Mindy, but did not work out as Mindy was unable to adjust to their home. So she then came to us with the help of the Canine Underground Railroad (CUR) and Chihuahua Rescue and Transport (CRT). We were so happy to finally have her in our home. And you know what? She was happy too! It's been my experience that most dogs take a little while to adjust to a new home. Spike, who we adopted at the age of 3, took at least a full year before he appeared to feel at home. But as soon as Mindy's feet first hit the floor in our house she acted as though she knew that this home *belonged* to her!

As further proof of how "at-home" Mindy felt at our house, on her first visit to the veterinarian, Mindy panted, shook, and gasped for breath while we were enroute (Mindy was not a happy traveler). But when we left the vet's office and headed for the pickup, Mindy was just trotting and bouncing and looking just as happy as she could be. We all got in the pickup and I expected Mindy to freak-out at any minute, but she never did. She was going from one window to the next looking for a booger to bark at. (Boogers are boogeymen or unfamiliar hooomans.) Several boogers walked by and she barked ferociously, bristles standing up. She never did any of that before in the pickup. During the trip home, she lay in her bed (which we had taken with us to make her feel more secure) with her chin resting on her pillow, looking oh so peaceful, serene, and happy! There was no panting whatsoever on the entire trip back home. Sonny suggested that Mindy's stressing out had been caused by her thinking that she was being taken somewhere to be handed off to someone else again. And when we all left the vet's office together she realized she was going back home with us. Well, I guess that's as good a reason as any -- I sure can't think of any other one! When we got home, we parked at the back of the house and Mindy had only seen our back door once before, but I had to turn loose of her leash because she was running so hard to get into the door and into the house that I couldn't keep up with her.

Many of our friends may remember that Mindy was doing much better since her bronchodialator had the dosage changed to every 8 hours instead of just twice a day. But the vet still wanted her to come back for further xrays to check on any change to the "spots" on her lungs. A few days prior to her appointment, Mindy took a turn for the worse. She began to have "restless" nights and developed a cough that to me sounded "wet." She began to try to sleep sitting up. I decided that it must be too uncomfortable for her to lie down. Her normal voracious appetite dwindled completely away. We took her to the doctor on the 19th, and the vet said she had developed congestive heart failure (which she had no sign of at the last exam). He told me that he probably could buy her a little more time with lasix and a heart drug *IF* the "spots" on her lungs had not changed. Only one xray was taken this time, and it was enough to tell the story. The "spots" had changed to several good-sized tumors throughout her entire chest cavity. It was all too obvious. Mindy was in a lot of discomfort from a body that was totally spent. There was only one way left to relieve her pain. I stayed with her and held her in her own blanket, the one that came with her to our home. When we left, attached to her carrier was a card signed by everyone at the clinic. It's so pretty, I wish I had a scanner. The verse said, "All who have felt an animal's love Are touched by sorrow at its passing. As we have shared in your pet's life, we now share in your sorrow."

We brought Mindy's body 120 miles back to Sanderson and buried her under the shade tree in the back yard with the others. I couldn't bring myself at first to write about it, and still can't keep back the tears. Since Mindy was only in our lives for such a short time, we're a little surprised at how devastated we are at our loss. We're both having a very hard time dealing with it. She may have been little -- but she sure left a BIG impression on us!!