My daughter lost her little fuzzball last night. He would have been 16 in Nov. I won't go into too many details, except to say it was traumatic (not run over or anything like that, it was a health issue that appeared without warning, but it wasn't pretty). He was still alive when we got to the vet, but given his age & some other factors, she opted for euthanization. Not how we expected to end the day.
He was a treasured member of the family. He was my daughter's dog, but he was the best little guy, for everyone. His name was Farley but he was the dog with 100 nicknames - Sir Farles Fluffington (when his coat was long, he was super floof), Ol' Frecklebelly, Farf, Farfenheimer, DerpDog, FluffyButt, Mr Hop-a-long...the list goes on and on.
He, along with his brother Finn, came into my daughter's life 10 years ago, at a time she needed them most, when health issues were making life particularly difficult for her and the doctors couldn't figure it out. I know that his ears, and Finn's, became a safe place for my daughter to tell her secrets and sorrows to, knowing that the only thing she'd get in return were gentle licks and snuggles, no judgment, no disapproval. They were the best therapists and I know they were often the only reason she got through the last 10 years.
Farley entertained her, and us, with his endless derpiness, attached to the most lovable personality. He was always submissive to Finn, because Finn was the boss, but he would get fiercely chirpy and defensive if he felt any dog or anyone might harm Finn. He never actually bit/hurt another dog or person, he just thought he was being fierce and putting them/you on notice, and for such a normally quiet little dog, when he got chirpy, it was always a bit of a surprise.
Farley had the funniest little one-sided bunny hop on his right hind leg when he walked. By the time he came to us, he'd cost his former owners a pretty penny at the vet, because they thought something was wrong. The vets cleared him though, and just said it was Farf's special little quirk. That was Farley to a T. A special little quirk. Happy, always, and cluelessly moseying through life at his funny little pace, with his funny little one-sided bunny hop.
He was hard to get pictures of, he would absolutely turn his head if you got the camera out.
We'd often end up with pictures like this:
Every so often, we were lucky enough to get one like this:
Farf was derpy as hell, but sometimes the quickest to catch on to something new that my daughter was trying to teach all the dogs. I don't know if that dog ever had a bad day (until last night, obvs).
It got a little quieter around here today and I don't like it...I'm grateful to the vet that things were gentle, and very peaceful for Farley, as he left us.