To Amy With Love

   Amy adopted me when she was eight years old. I met Amy and her person, Lisa, through mutual friends. I'd been searching for a dog to train to alert me to sounds as I've had a severe hearing loss since early childhood.

We met on a bitterly cold January night, and for me it was love at first sight. Her soft, liquid brown eyes shone with such intelligence and warmth that Amy waltzed right into my heart at that moment. Lisa did her best to warn me of just how smart Miss Amy-Puppy was; but i paid no heed to her words. Amy was all that i could see. Amy hoped into my car like it was hers(it was!), and our adventures in love, and sometimes had begun. I had no idea then just how special Amy was and how strong a bond we would form in the coming years.

  After picking up my daughter, Jamie,and making an essential pit stop for puppy dinner,toys,leashes, Amy walked into our home like she'd always belonged there.

   Amy had us giggling as we watched her pick up a mouthful of food and carry it into the living room to eat it. Amy's version of fast food!

  She checked Jamie over head to toe then pranced over to sit in front of me,head on my knee, quizzical expression in her eyes. Those eyes were so expressive. Amy spoke volumes with those eyes. Amy never walked. She pranced regal,proud and with 'happy feet'.

We learned that first night just how much Amy liiked playing catch,especiallyy with a tennis ball. She had the tennis ball torn apart byy bedtime! Bedtime was the start of a ritual she would follow the rest of her life. She hopped up on my bed,sqiggled under the blankets, and scrunched up her pillow just right and slept. Amy liked to be comfortable!

  Amy settled into our routine easily and had me well trained within a week. Amy knew how wrap me right around her lil paw!

  At the end of our second week, I'd had to leave her alone for awhile, and when I returned I had one freaked puppy and one huge mess of feathers,foam and window blinds scattered in both bedrooms. To say I was bit angry was an understatement. "Amy! Look at thiz mess! Bad dog! You are bad! Get doen off the bed, bad girl!" She sliithered off the bed, groveling at my feet. I felt awful for making her feel so terrible so of course I got down on the floor to give her a hug. She followed me out to the kitchen where she started licking the wall. I thought a walk might help and once outside Amy acted fine. As soon as we returned to the house though Amy started here strange behavior again. I have been known to be a bit dense, but I still didnt understand this strange behavior. Well maybe if we lay down on the couch I can calm her down...it didn't help. She kept going into the hall and looking up. In fact the only the way the poor girl could get through to me was to sit on my head ( she would remember that trick forever after!) She finally made me understand that the smoke detector's batteries were and it was doing its high pitch beep-beep. Poor Amy ears! I think this when Amy began to realize I couldn't hear. A few days later Jamie was calling from her room and when I didnt respond she sent Amy to" go get mommy!" Amy boucned up onto my bex and had to deal with dense person yet again. I did finally get the mesage, with some added help from Jamie. Amy almost trained herself with minimal help from me. Her method of alerting to the alarm clock was simple and effective. She'd grab the clock in her mouth,hop up on the bed,and drop it on my head! Very effective and guaranteed to produce the desirex results.

I came to rely on Amy more and more as time went by. When my grandbaby, Mikaela was born and Jamie was living in her own apartment Amy and I became inseperable. When Amy first met Mikaela and heard her crying, she flew down the hall to drag me off to 'take care of this baby!' Never mind that Jamie was holding Mikaela and feeding her. Amy had to over see the care and feeding of Mikaela ever after and I always had the impression that Amy was sure she could do the job better then we mere humans.

   I enjoy cooking and baking, at Christmas time I decided to make stolen bread. I needed to buy a bottle of rum and some other ingredients,so I stopped at a store in town after visiting with Jamie. I popped the bottle of rum under the front seat of the car and left Amy in the back seat while I finished my shopping. It's a twenty eight mile drive to our home and about half way, i smelled a spicy aroma I looked at the floor and could still see the bag the held the rum under the front seat. The smell was getting stronger by the minute. I glanced into the back seat and was just able to make out the bottle of rum,open between Amy's paws! All i could do was laugh and say" Amy! You are so gonna get us busted!" Once home, Miss Von Buekhat staggered into the house and passed out. The vet told me to keep a close eye on her and let her sleep it off.

If ther was a comfortable couch to be had Amy would find ir. She'd grab a pillow and scrunch it up until it was nicely fluffed up and rest her head on it. If there was a blanket available she'd squiggle under that as well. Amy was a real couch potato.

  Amy loved having visitors. When someone came to our house, Amy would be ready with a present usually one of my shoes. There was only one drawback; Amy never gave up her presents. She'd run in circles,tail wagging untill you would pet and say hello, then she'd retreat to the couch holding her present.

Amy loved McDonald's burgers with the works. It got to be comical because she also learned to 'work the window' at Dunkin' Dougnuts'. She'd half sit half stand over my lap wiith her chin on the edge of the car window and let her eyes to the talking. She would usually be rewarded with a doughnut hole. However,all things being equal and Amy being Amy she always tried to milk another treat or two from the cashier.

My husband and I had some tough times during our marriage and Amy would try to get between us during some of the more physical agruments. It was during one of these arguments that Amy got the worse end of the deal. It was after she hit her head on the couch that her health began failing rapidly.

After almost losing her to a bowel obstruction when she thought the tinsel on the Christmas looked good to eat, I started watching her more closely..

  In the spring of 2002, Amy started having problems that were more serious; she fall to the ground for no reason with her head lolling to one side. She seemed to recover quickly enough though. She also was walkking into funiture and doorways.

Amy began sleeping so deeply I'd have to shake her awake and coax her outside. Friends began comenting that she appeared to be dead when she sleeping.

Amy still had some very good days. Amy still enjoyed walks in the woods and playing ball. Although there were times when I'd toss her the tennis ball, and she'd look at me,look at the ball, and with a sigh she'd walk over to pick up the ball. The vets thought Amy might have had a brain tumor. I could not even think about the possibility of losing my best friend.

Amy began haveing seizures and difficulty chewing in September. I know it would not be long before my Amy would be gone. The last week of Amy's life we spent at a campground. We spent some happy days watching the ducks and geese on the pond. On her last night she managed to eat some canned food and then she slept in the tent from four that afternoon until I woke her at one in the morning for a potty break. She paced as if she were blind and in pain while I watched from the picnic table in tears. I woke her at ten in tbe morning and we drove to Sonics so she could have a burger. She so wanted that burger. It was difficult for her to eat it. We drove to a park and she laid her head in my lap. Her body shuddered with each breath as it had all through the long night. I stroked her head and ears as tears streamed down my face; we stayed like that for a long time. I finally said to her ' It's ok Amy, if you have to leave me. You don’t have to hang on for me, I'll be ok sweetie. You go'  Amy turnex her head and looked into my face. And her eyes those talking Amy eyes said it all. I knew then what I had to do. Amy and I took one last ride to the vets.

  Amy died peacefully on October 31 2002,

How I miss you Amy Mine Orhen. There is not a day that goes by that you don’t cross my toughts. There are many birds to find and squirrels to chase. There are many fields and streams to explore many mountains yet to climb. My world will be much lonelier and scarier without you Amy. You have touched and blessed my life in such a unique and powerful way. Happy hunting Amy puppy, I'll remember always. Where there is love there is hope and life and Amy filled my days with love.

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