Our Best friend passed on

Monty

      Monty was one of those dogs who was truly unique.  When we first heard about him, a friend introduced us to his first family, who said they could not keep him since they had 4 dogs already.  We were looking for a dog as a companion to our first dog, Tammy.  Monty was 3 months old when we introduced him to Tammy.  Tammy gave Monty a hard time at first, but then seemed to get used to having him around.  

       We found out in a short time that Monty liked chasing balls, something that Tammy did not like as much.  Monty liked adults and children alike, he had a great personality, unlike Tammy, who just liked Jodie and me, nobody else.  And her personality was very different from Monty’s.   Monty loved to tease us with the ball, which most people found comical.  

        When he was 9 months old, he was bitten by a female German shepherd, who took a chunk out of his side.  The German shepherd’s owner said his dog was at fault, so he paid the vet bill, which consisted of surgery and stitches.  Monty survived that very well.  When he wanted something, he would try to speak and then we had to guess what he wanted at that time.

          His favorite activities were eating and chasing the ball.  Once, he got up to almost 110 pounds, so we put him on a diet.  He lost weight- wound up at 80 pounds, which was his ideal weight, according to our vet.  All of the girls and guys who worked for our vet loved Monty.  They said he was no trouble when we put him in the kennel when we left on our vacations.  

         When either of us got sick, he would stay with us at the bottom of the bed for long periods of time. When we came home from work, he would greet us like he had not seen us for months.   He was stubborn and became a lot more so in the last 2 months.

          As he celebrated his 11th birthday in January, 2013, he was starting to show signs of arthritis, especially in his right hip.  So, we gave him pills for his arthritis, which helped him somewhat.  He still loved to go to the beach and chase the ball, and you could not tell when he chased the ball that he even had arthritis.  But, as time went on, his legs were getting more stiff, and he moved slower than before. 

           So, on Tuesday, May 21st, we took the dogs as usual to the beach, but Monty walked very slowly and could not even retrieve the ball.  Whereas before, Monty would be the first one up and to the door if someone rang the bell or knocked,  now Cleo, our other dog, would be the first one up and Monty would just stay where he was.  Monty depended a lot on Cleo the last 2 months, whereas Cleo had depended on Monty a lot before then.  They took care of each other.  

            By Thursday, the 23rd of May, Monty sat out in the front garden for 4 hours, not getting up. Jodie and I decided that on Friday, the 24th, we would bring him to Dr. Pizmino at El Pibe and have him put to sleep because he was in pain and we did not want him to suffer anymore.   That was one of the hardest decisions we have had to make.  Monty had been our best friend for over 11 years, and now, we would not have his company to share.  Needless to say, we were basket cases on our way to the vet office, and also during and after putting him to sleep.  But, Dr. Pizmino, Jorge, and one of the assistants were very gentle with him and I am glad that Jodie and I were the last ones he saw before he left this world.  One of the things I read afterward that gave me comfort was the note from my sister-in-law, Terry, which said, “take comfort in the fact that you gave him a good life”.  Yes, we did give Monty a good life, and I believe that we will see him again when we leave this world.  Monty, rest in peace, my friend!