Re: [pyrnet] CHAT: Life after Clondike

["Gordon Crump" <hermit@duo-county.com>]

   Thanks for the post on Clondike and Abigail.  You have my deepest
respect for not abandoning Clondike because she was old. Though it
must have cost considerable money.
   We need many more of your breed.

   Hermit in the Woods, (Gordon Crump) partner with Mary, a Pyr  on
livestock guardian duty, and is a top-notch
friend, buddy and worker.
=======
> Clondike was a Great Pyrenees bitch who went to the Rainbow Bridge
in
> Feb. at the age of 13 and 3 months.  She came from a humble
background as
> a puppymill/petstore dog who at 11 months outgrew her row house in
NYC and
> came to live with us courtesy of Penn-Dutch and PFNE Pyr Rescue
groups.
>
> Clondike taught us a lot about life and love, beginning a career as
a
> therapy dog at age 9 1/2 and quickly becoming a favorite at the
local
> nursing home.  At age 11 1/2, while undergoing chemotherapy for
lymphoma,
> she traveled 15 hours to Chicago to show me off in Veterans Class at
the
> 1999 Great Pyrenees Club of America (GPCA) National--the first point
show
> for either of us.  Her many fans from the Internet marveled at how
she
> baited for Brussels sprouts.
>
> Clondike lived 32 months from diagnosis with lymphoma, doubling the
life
> expectancy for dogs treated at this clinic, and she continued to
amaze all
> her vets with her spirit and love of life.  An x-ray taken 3 days
before
> she had to be euthanized for complications of arthritis and old age
showed
> no obvious cancer, so she was a cancer survivor!
>
> While we had planned to wait a few months before taking on another
Pyr, in
> a matter of weeks we got an urgent call from Penn-Dutch Rescue
asking if
> we could foster a 3 1/2 year-old bitch named Abigail for "a week or
> 2."  Four weeks to the hour after taking Clondike on that last ride
to the
> vet we took off to pick up Ms. Abigail and within 24 hours she had
stolen
> our hearts.
>
> Abigail has some problems with territorial aggression and is on a
> combination of behavioral therapy and Prozac, but she is the most
> affectionate Pyr we have ever had!  We were able to take her to the
2001
> GPCA National and participate in the Club's first-ever Parade of
Rescue
> Dogs, dedicated in part to Clondike's memory--a really moving
experience.
>
> We have just signed the papers to formally adopt Abigail, who is
becoming
> much more social as we expose her to a variety of people and
> events.  She's not ready to become a therapy dog just yet, but she
is a
> loving companion and she makes us laugh.
>
> Clondike's loss has been really hard on Nancy and me, but with the
support
> of friends all over the world and the love of Ms. Abigail we are
managing.
>
> Hugs to all,
>
> David, Nancy, Abigail (the Prozac Princess) and Angel Clondike
(still very
> much with us in spirit)
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
>  David Kintsfather, Ph.D.       | PHONE:       (610) 683-4497
>  Prof. of Telecommunications    | FAX:         (610) 683-4659
>  Kutztown University            | E-MAIL:      kintsfat@kutztown.edu
>  PO Box 730                     | "We need not think alike to love
alike."
>  Kutztown, PA  19530-0730       |              Francis David
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
>
>
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