Friday, May 17, 2013

Alex, the wonder dog ? - May 17, 2013




Alex, my beautiful red haired boy dachshund, died suddenly today after being hit by a school bus.  I was away at the time but Paul told me that he did not suffer.  After losing Kimora last summer and now with Alex gone, Kelis is is a very lonely girl while Paul and I have spent hours just sitting close together, with her in the middle, trying to make sense of it all and not succeeding.

Six years and ten days ago Alex came to me from Dachshund Rescue of Houston.  He had been found with a harness grown into his back and, after about four months at the vet's and another month with a wonderful foster family, he came to live with me and The Girls - aka Kelis and Kimora. His rescue name was Lance but I soon changed it to Alex because I had an old boss that was called Lance and my Alex was nothing like him.

From then on he was my boy and we had a lot of ups and downs.  He never really got house trained properly.  Just when I thought things were going well he would 'mark' the big comfy chair.  Every meal was his last and every treat was the last one in the world.  Every meal time, walk, car ride, cuddle time, nap or outdoor trek was enthusiastically approached with lots of tail wagging, dancing and barking.  He was my shadow and I have composed many a Facebook post, blog entry or e-mail with him on my lap or snugged up behind my back.   

I have become that crazy dog lady I described in this post and have finally admitted that a home without a dog is not my home. There are many posts in this blog about all his antics but there are three that truly make me  chuckle.  Here's the one where he talks about getting all his bandages off after the dog attack surgery  Then there is the one about dog walking which I really like.  And for a bit of comic relief, this post shows five mangled dog toys that I sewed together so Alex could tear them apart again.

He was a good dog and will be sorely missed.