Stewart was rescued from a horrible household in Tucson when he was 14 weeks old. Just about every inch of him was covered in ticks and he had never been outside before I brought him to his forever home. He had been kept in a cage in the living room of the house where he was born. When I sat down on the carpeted floor to call him to me, I found that I had ticks crawling all over my legs! I couldn't get him out of there fast enough! In his new home, he had doggie doors so he could go outside anytime he wanted, and once he got used to his freedom, he loved to come and go as he pleased. It took him a little while to get used to being outside; at first he was afraid of the grass and the big sky.
Stewart was half Shih Tzu and half chihuahua. He didn't look like either of his parents...he was much cuter! He inherited the best from each of them.
He became very sick very fast 5 days ago. We rushed him to the emergency vet late Monday night. When we first got to the vet's office, he could walk, but by the time we left, he couldn't even stand up. They thought at first that he had geriatric vestibular disease, a condition of the inner ear that affects balance. There wasn't much they could do for him that night, so they said he should see his regular vet the next day. Stewart was admitted to the vet hospital on Tuesday, where they said they'd treat him for the GVD. After 4 days in the hospital, Stewart wasn't getting any better; he was getting worse. He was having seizures, he couldn't eat on his own, he still couldn't stand up, and his eyes couldn't focus. His condition was dire, the vet said; something catastrophic had happened to him and it wasn't as simple as the GVD, which is very treatable. The vet said she suspected he had a brain tumor. Afraid that he was suffering, we made the hard decision to have him put to sleep. I stayed with him until the end, hugging and kissing him and telling him I love him over and over.
He was quite a character. He sneezed on command and he gave the cutest little high-fives you ever saw. And whenever he heard the last sheet of toilet paper coming off the roll, he zoomed into the bathroom so he could retrieve the cardboard tube. My sister got such a kick out of that when she was visiting that she saved up a whole box of empty tubes and mailed them to him. He was in hog heaven for days, playing with all of his new treasures.
I was impressed by his use of "tools." His very favorite toy was a little squeaky hamburger, and he was always trying to find a good hiding place for it. I'd find it all over the house, secreted away in the oddest places. The time that cracked me up the most was when I found his hamburger in the corner by my bookcase. Not only had he "hidden" it there, but he had covered it with a 2"x2" square of fabric that he had found by my sewing machine. It didn't remotely cover his hamburger, but he was happy with the job he had done hiding it. I still laugh about it. I thought it was brilliant.
He was such a happy little guy and he had a very, very good life and was loved very much. He would have died a long time ago if he had stayed in that terrible house. He will be missed always and forever.
Fragile Circle
"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan." -- Irving Townsend.
"If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again." --Anonymous
Special thanks to my friend D. Frederick Birely for sponsoring Stewie's memorial page.
Stewart was half Shih Tzu and half chihuahua. He didn't look like either of his parents...he was much cuter! He inherited the best from each of them.
He became very sick very fast 5 days ago. We rushed him to the emergency vet late Monday night. When we first got to the vet's office, he could walk, but by the time we left, he couldn't even stand up. They thought at first that he had geriatric vestibular disease, a condition of the inner ear that affects balance. There wasn't much they could do for him that night, so they said he should see his regular vet the next day. Stewart was admitted to the vet hospital on Tuesday, where they said they'd treat him for the GVD. After 4 days in the hospital, Stewart wasn't getting any better; he was getting worse. He was having seizures, he couldn't eat on his own, he still couldn't stand up, and his eyes couldn't focus. His condition was dire, the vet said; something catastrophic had happened to him and it wasn't as simple as the GVD, which is very treatable. The vet said she suspected he had a brain tumor. Afraid that he was suffering, we made the hard decision to have him put to sleep. I stayed with him until the end, hugging and kissing him and telling him I love him over and over.
He was quite a character. He sneezed on command and he gave the cutest little high-fives you ever saw. And whenever he heard the last sheet of toilet paper coming off the roll, he zoomed into the bathroom so he could retrieve the cardboard tube. My sister got such a kick out of that when she was visiting that she saved up a whole box of empty tubes and mailed them to him. He was in hog heaven for days, playing with all of his new treasures.
I was impressed by his use of "tools." His very favorite toy was a little squeaky hamburger, and he was always trying to find a good hiding place for it. I'd find it all over the house, secreted away in the oddest places. The time that cracked me up the most was when I found his hamburger in the corner by my bookcase. Not only had he "hidden" it there, but he had covered it with a 2"x2" square of fabric that he had found by my sewing machine. It didn't remotely cover his hamburger, but he was happy with the job he had done hiding it. I still laugh about it. I thought it was brilliant.
He was such a happy little guy and he had a very, very good life and was loved very much. He would have died a long time ago if he had stayed in that terrible house. He will be missed always and forever.
Fragile Circle
"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan." -- Irving Townsend.
"If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again." --Anonymous
Special thanks to my friend D. Frederick Birely for sponsoring Stewie's memorial page.
Stewart was rescued from a horrible household in Tucson when he was 14 weeks old. Just about every inch of him was covered in ticks and he had never been outside before I brought him to his forever home. He had been kept in a cage in the living room of the house where he was born. When I sat down on the carpeted floor to call him to me, I found that I had ticks crawling all over my legs! I couldn't get him out of there fast enough! In his new home, he had doggie doors so he could go outside anytime he wanted, and once he got used to his freedom, he loved to come and go as he pleased. It took him a little while to get used to being outside; at first he was afraid of the grass and the big sky.
Stewart was half Shih Tzu and half chihuahua. He didn't look like either of his parents...he was much cuter! He inherited the best from each of them.
He became very sick very fast 5 days ago. We rushed him to the emergency vet late Monday night. When we first got to the vet's office, he could walk, but by the time we left, he couldn't even stand up. They thought at first that he had geriatric vestibular disease, a condition of the inner ear that affects balance. There wasn't much they could do for him that night, so they said he should see his regular vet the next day. Stewart was admitted to the vet hospital on Tuesday, where they said they'd treat him for the GVD. After 4 days in the hospital, Stewart wasn't getting any better; he was getting worse. He was having seizures, he couldn't eat on his own, he still couldn't stand up, and his eyes couldn't focus. His condition was dire, the vet said; something catastrophic had happened to him and it wasn't as simple as the GVD, which is very treatable. The vet said she suspected he had a brain tumor. Afraid that he was suffering, we made the hard decision to have him put to sleep. I stayed with him until the end, hugging and kissing him and telling him I love him over and over.
He was quite a character. He sneezed on command and he gave the cutest little high-fives you ever saw. And whenever he heard the last sheet of toilet paper coming off the roll, he zoomed into the bathroom so he could retrieve the cardboard tube. My sister got such a kick out of that when she was visiting that she saved up a whole box of empty tubes and mailed them to him. He was in hog heaven for days, playing with all of his new treasures.
I was impressed by his use of "tools." His very favorite toy was a little squeaky hamburger, and he was always trying to find a good hiding place for it. I'd find it all over the house, secreted away in the oddest places. The time that cracked me up the most was when I found his hamburger in the corner by my bookcase. Not only had he "hidden" it there, but he had covered it with a 2"x2" square of fabric that he had found by my sewing machine. It didn't remotely cover his hamburger, but he was happy with the job he had done hiding it. I still laugh about it. I thought it was brilliant.
He was such a happy little guy and he had a very, very good life and was loved very much. He would have died a long time ago if he had stayed in that terrible house. He will be missed always and forever.
Fragile Circle
"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan." -- Irving Townsend.
"If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again." --Anonymous
Special thanks to my friend D. Frederick Birely for sponsoring Stewie's memorial page.
Stewart was half Shih Tzu and half chihuahua. He didn't look like either of his parents...he was much cuter! He inherited the best from each of them.
He became very sick very fast 5 days ago. We rushed him to the emergency vet late Monday night. When we first got to the vet's office, he could walk, but by the time we left, he couldn't even stand up. They thought at first that he had geriatric vestibular disease, a condition of the inner ear that affects balance. There wasn't much they could do for him that night, so they said he should see his regular vet the next day. Stewart was admitted to the vet hospital on Tuesday, where they said they'd treat him for the GVD. After 4 days in the hospital, Stewart wasn't getting any better; he was getting worse. He was having seizures, he couldn't eat on his own, he still couldn't stand up, and his eyes couldn't focus. His condition was dire, the vet said; something catastrophic had happened to him and it wasn't as simple as the GVD, which is very treatable. The vet said she suspected he had a brain tumor. Afraid that he was suffering, we made the hard decision to have him put to sleep. I stayed with him until the end, hugging and kissing him and telling him I love him over and over.
He was quite a character. He sneezed on command and he gave the cutest little high-fives you ever saw. And whenever he heard the last sheet of toilet paper coming off the roll, he zoomed into the bathroom so he could retrieve the cardboard tube. My sister got such a kick out of that when she was visiting that she saved up a whole box of empty tubes and mailed them to him. He was in hog heaven for days, playing with all of his new treasures.
I was impressed by his use of "tools." His very favorite toy was a little squeaky hamburger, and he was always trying to find a good hiding place for it. I'd find it all over the house, secreted away in the oddest places. The time that cracked me up the most was when I found his hamburger in the corner by my bookcase. Not only had he "hidden" it there, but he had covered it with a 2"x2" square of fabric that he had found by my sewing machine. It didn't remotely cover his hamburger, but he was happy with the job he had done hiding it. I still laugh about it. I thought it was brilliant.
He was such a happy little guy and he had a very, very good life and was loved very much. He would have died a long time ago if he had stayed in that terrible house. He will be missed always and forever.
Fragile Circle
"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan." -- Irving Townsend.
"If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again." --Anonymous
Special thanks to my friend D. Frederick Birely for sponsoring Stewie's memorial page.
