Wednesday, November 23, 2011

RIP Casey 2003 - 2011


Casey – Our most wonderful Dog.
We married in 2003 and had always thought about getting a dog.  I had not been a doggy person but Shane was.  So after much deliberation we decided to have a look around and see if we could find the right dog.  We didn’t want a puppy so we looked in the local paper for dogs to give away.  That day the only one was a Boxer Lab cross, female 18months, quiet, needs home.  We went out to have a look.  I was expecting a lab looking dog….yellow/golden in colour.  So when the owner brought us out a dog that had Foxy colouring…White with a brown head and patch on back, I was surprised.  He had been given her as a pig dog and he explained that she was definitely NOT a pig dog as she came out with him once….as soon as he shot the gun, she ran all the way back to the car and was found hiding and shaking.  So he needed to find her a good home as he needed working dogs. 
We fell in love with her then and there.  He said he thought she had been mistreated as she was easily startled and timid….hated plastic bags and loud noise but also if you lifted you arms up she would cower.  There was little need for us to confer if we wanted her...Casey had already picked us.  Funny thing, she didn’t want to get in the car.  She had only ever ridden in the trunk and so I had to get in the back seat with her.  It didn’t take very long for her to get over that phobia and she was soon the Queen of the back seat, with her head out the window or resting on Shanes shoulder.
Casey and I on our first outing to the beach 2003

She went EVERY where with us.  She slept in side by our bed, had her own couch/chair in the lounge and adored the cat we had at the time.  She never barked, never made mess’s in side………except for her shedding…man how she was not bald I will never know!!!  Talk about a hair monster.  Her passion was stuffed toys………….oh she loved to bite the eyes off and then slow de stuff them……it was a quick death for any stuffed toy left on the ground.  I loved how she grinned at you when you came home and would do a little corkscrew jump of excitement. 
 As time went on and we were both working full time jobs we thought she might be getting lonely during the day so we welcomed Trixie into our home.  Trixie is a Foxy cross and with them having the same colouring man people thought they were  related in some way. 
We had Casey for nearly 9 years.  The vet had warned us a few years earlier that her front legs – especially her right leg, would get early arthritis due to an injury when she must have been a puppy.  Her elbow tip had been shattered.  So often after long walks she would limp a little or be a little stiffer for a couple of days.  As the years progressed she got heavier and started getting the typical Labrador lumps which made it a little more awkward for her to walk too far.  Not that you would really notice as she LOVED walks and would leap around like a 2 year old…..only to suffer the next day for it.  J
Sadly we had to make the hardest decision as a pet owner……Once we found out she was in pain from her legs, the decision was made easier in away.  Neither of us wanted her to suffer any sort of pain or discomfort. 
The house feels very empty with her around.  Trixie follows Shane everywhere now and hates to be left alone……….and I lay awake at night listening for her tinkle of the collar …as she used to shake her head to make it tinkle as she came down to bed each night. 
RIP my most beautiful and wonderful girl…………..she was the best dog ever.
Beautiful Casey - Nov 2011

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