Theo

Two weeks ago, while we were on vacation, we lost Theo, our Shetland Sheep dog (on the right, with Bessie, our Corgi on the right). Coming on the heels of Bessie's passing earlier this year, it's been a rough year for our family in this regard.

We had boarded him with our vets, because giving him medication had become difficult (and even dangerous) and the folks that would normally watch him were friends - it was too much to ask someone else to do. We were hand feeding him and he would stop breathing at times, however we had been able to revive him.

He didn't take well to unfamiliar circumstances and we knew there was a risk. We had discussed putting him to sleep a couple of times, but he still had lively moments, even though his breathing was labored from his enlarged heart.

We had a call from the vets indicating he wasn't eating and then during dinner, a call that he was in very bad shape and suffering - they could take extreme measures or put him to sleep. We took the latter. The three of us stepped out of the restaurant and cried. It was hard on our friend Lynn too, as we were out celebrating her birthday at the time.
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Theo, perhaps more than our other dogs, was dependent on us. He was an excellent dog - he maintained a very close relationship with each of us, through to the end - but especially Jen, who he would follow around. He always needed to be where she was.

He was shy at first with anyone, but after a period of tentative checking out, he became very warm. He always had a handsome mane, even when it was tangled and he loved to let it blow in the breeze. He had a propensity for barking at anything (we would joke that he would notice differently charged ions and bark at them).

He had a love for things cold and crunchy, especially veggies and fruit. Apples were favorites, as were watermelon and cucumbers - although he was an omnivore - eating anything and everything.

He had a myriad of nicknames. Bananaman. Fio. FiFi. Theeman. Handsome Man. Theo J. Fluffyman or Mr. Fluffyman (I recently wrote a song about him - "Blues for TJ"). Mr. Mr., The Big Man, Jumbo Shelty, His Majesty, Bunnyman. There are more, but you get the idea. He was the old man, but also the child and my single male counterpart in this house of women.

His early years found him chasing cats and barking and the later years barking and yes, a lot of sleeping. He had a penchant for air conditioning vents in the summer, given the winter coat he carried year around.

He was thirteen years old - a long life for a Shelty and a good one. We hope his final moments were short. We are relieved his labor and suffering have stopped. We are profoundly sad he is no longer in our lives - he is loved dearly and will be missed.