Tribute to Simcha

My Dearest Simcha . . . Never a faded memory ~ always alive in my heart!
"Simcha"
December 25, 1982 - February 9, 1994

This is a picture of Simcha on the first day we brought her home. The look on her face explains it all - "Where the heck am I?" She was only four months old and she looked like her eyes were ready to pop out. Her "Buddha's kiss" (which is what they call the white mark on a Peke's head) also suggested that she would be growing into it. Simcha was a parti-color Peke. A parti-color is described as being mostly white with colored patches on the body, but any patches on the saddle must be broken. She had a black mask and also what they call a "milk mark" under her chin. I'd never had a Pekingese before and thought that their unusual pushed-in face and other distinct features were just charming and adorable. My husband and I just gave her so much love and attention, it wasn't long before she was totally at ease. Well, you can imagine who became the boss of the house.. She fit in perfectly!

This is one of my favorite pictures

of Simcha. I think she is definitely smiling in this one and I think she was a happy dog. She just loved chewing on those rawhide chew sticks. The color of those chew sticks blended so well with the color of our carpeting . . . well, it wasn't too much fun
stepping on a soggy one in your bare feet!

Well, Simcha didn't just sit around with chew sticks all the time - no sir! She was very active and just loved to play. This picture will give you an idea as to one of the reasons why we nicknamed her "Super Pup". She certainly was super to us.

Simcha used to like to
jump up on the sofa and lay behind where I sat while I was watching
television or working on crochet. I did a lot of crocheting while I was
"expecting" my daughter. She was always there next to me. She would fall asleep there and little by little she would sink down behind the sofa pillow. It seemed that the more she sank, the more comfortable she was and the louder she snored!

Through all the years, the only time she really did something naughty was when we came home from being out, we found one tissue (that she had gotten from the top edge of the wastebasket) was torn into small pieces and left on the floor. We said, "Oh Simcha, what did you do while we were gone?", and then we petted her and told her that she shouldn't do that. It never happened again. She had the run of the house and was always a perfect little girl. In this picture, you can see the sweetness in her face that was truly her personality. You can also see age creeping up as you will notice the fur under her eyes beginning to lighten, which eventually turned gray.

Here you get a look at our parakeet, Mickey, who is still with us. He is about 11 - 12 years old now. We had to clip his wings to keep him from hurting himself - too many obstacles in our house for a tiny little bird to fly into or
fall behind. Simcha in all her sweetness never let anything bother her - not even a parakeet on her head! The only things she wasn't really too pleased with was a bath and, unfortunately, she occasionally got motion sickness when we took her for a car ride. However, when we drove to our vacation destination which took us two days, she did just fine. We got such a kick out of her because every time we would stop to pay a toll, she would bark and protect us from the toll taker.
It was on our vacation we noticed something was wrong - health wise - with Simcha. We came back from an outing and she greeted us and then fell over on her side and looked as if she was choking. We thought she had a treat in her mouth and choked on it when she got excited because we were home. When we found that was not the case, we thought perhaps it was a seizure of some type. She was fine in a few minutes time. While we were trying to help Simcha, unbeknownst to us, our daughter, who was about six years old then, ran into the other room and called 911! When they answered, she got scared and hung up. They, of course, called back and we had to explain the situation and assure them that we would discuss this with our daughter and let her know that you do not call 911 for a dog - only for people. We had to admit, it was kinda funny, and was a
tension-easer at the time, but we still had our concerns about Simcha and she had a vet visit as soon as we got home. After the EKG and other tests, our hearts sank when we found out she had developed
heart disease. Our vet told us that most people usually put their dog to sleep when this occurs because they don't have the time or want to be bothered with giving the dog extra care and medication. Well, we weren't "most people". We would do whatever we had to do to keep her alive as long as we could - as long as the quality of her life was
going to be one worth living. Well, we were gifted with three more years with her and then her health started to decline. Our vet told us that with heart disease, there will come a time when you just have to put her to sleep because death from the causes of heart disease is a terrible death - they literally smother to death. She said that we will know when it is time, and we did. There was no denying the time had come. It was during the blizzard of '94 - she seemed very tired and we noticed that she couldn't seem to lie down. What was happening was her lungs were filling up with fluid and if she laid down, she couldn't breathe. Our vet said that she could probably extract the fluid, but it would just happen again, anyway. There had been a break in the bad weather and we knew that we had to take her to do the inevitable. We didn't want to get stuck at home due to the snow and have her die a horrible death, so we took her in the next day. She had that look on her face like she knew it was time, but it was so very hard to let her go. My husband, daughter and I were all there with her through to the end and she went peacefully and quietly. I just wish I had known how quickly the injection worked because I wanted to be holding her when she went, but to my regret, she was on the table when she slumped and I think by the time the syringe was drawn out and I picked her up, she was gone. We were petting her and comforting her and talking to her, though, and I think she knew how we felt, but I will always regret not holding her. We took her home with us and put her in a little box my husband made for her. I wrapped her in a baby blanket and laid her into the box. My daughter put some of her toys and some treats in with her and my husband chose to put a picture of the three of us in there with her. We said a prayer and did what we had to do. This was so hard. Our hearts were broken.
Later that day I was looking outside our front door and noticed that on the side of our patio there were paw prints in the shallow wind-
swept snow. It was from earlier that day when I had taken Simcha out for her last walk. The snow there froze that night and her paw prints remained there for a week. It was like a sign she had left behind saying that she didn't really want to leave us, but had to.
To this day, I still miss her and love her so much. I hope that someday we will be together again forever. I suppose some people don't understand these feelings. They think, "Hey, it was only a
dog.", but to me and my family, she was happiness and fun and
devotion and unconditional love. You don't run across these things in life all that often, and for those people who do think, "It was only a dog - you can get another one.", I feel very sorry for them because they have missed out on so many of life's treasures.

This is one of the last pictures we took of Simcha. It was taken the day before we had to let her go.

The following poem I wrote two years after Simcha's death.

In Memory of Simcha I still think of you Though it has been two years, And there are still those times When I can't hold back the tears. The pain in my heart Remains there so deep, As you forever lay In eternal life's sleep. A friend like you I shall never forget. You were a loyal and loving little pet. I cherish all the memories I have of you, Remembering all your little antics, too. As long as I live you'll remain in my heart. My love for you shall never depart. I hope someday we'll be together again, For I miss you dearly, my true and precious little friend. by: Joanne M. Porter

Thank you, Pekehaven, for this kind award.

A Prayer For Animals "Hear our humble prayer oh God, for our friends, the animals, especially for those who are suffering: for any that are lost or deserted or frightened or hungry. We entreat for them all the mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them, we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words. Make us ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to all wistful creatures in captivity . . . . . . that we may share thou blessings of the merciful." - Albert Schweizer -

If you are grieving over a pet, or have lost a pet at some time in your life, then please let me suggest that you visit the Pet Loss/Grief Support website (Rainbow Bridge) at http://petloss.com/ This is a beautiful site devoted to the memory of our pets who have passed on. It will give you some solace in contemplating the fact that many people believe that dogs (and animals) do have souls and do go to Heaven. If you wish, there is a section of the site that allows you to have your pet's name added to the Rainbow Bridge list and for you to write a tribute. There's also a "special needs" list there where pets who are sick and ailing can have their name added in order for them to be included in prayers. You will also find information there about the Monday Night Candle Ceremony which is a memorial service you can perform in the privacy of your own home.

"I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one, I'd like to leave an afterglow of smiles when the day is done. I'd like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. I'd like the tears of those who grieve to dry before the sun, I'd like the memory of me to be happy ones that I leave behind when the day is done."

~author unknown~ Speak Out For Animals!

Thank you to Jana for making up this banner for us dog lovers! "You think dogs will not be in Heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us. - Robert Louis Stevenson -

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