We have a friend who lives about 220 km away now, and when she travelled she would drop off one of her dogs to stay with us, sometimes for months at a time. We got to be like family and h
er owner would refer to us as Jou-jou's "Auntie Sue and Uncle John".
This is "
Jou-jou" (pronounced with a soft J, like "zh"), an Eski-Pom (American Eskimo dog/Pomeranian mix). She liked staying with us and we enjoyed her company. I forget how old she was, but she was at least 12-14 years or so old.
Anyway, last Fall Jou-jou began to have various internal problems (I forget what, exactly, liver? kidneys?) and was beginning to be in a fair amount of pain and having to wear a diaper, so the owner decided it was time to have her put down.
She invited us up for an overnight stay and a last visit with Jou-jou, which I thought was very thoughtful.
This is my last photo of Jou-jou, sitting on the porch and taken as we were getting into our car for the drive home.
She had an appointment for her final trip to the vet the following week, but she passed away in her sleep at home, in the night before the appointment. That is sort of fortunate, because the owner did not think much of the Vet's bedside manner, and it would not have been a pleasant experience for anybody.
(She had a habit of collecting twigs in her belly fur, as you can see.)
She will be missed.
Now, if you recall, I mentioned that Jou-jou was
one of the dogs. There is also Jou-jou's son,
Boris, which we got to take care of for the first time for a few weeks last Spring.
He's considerably smaller, and more like a Pomeranian. A different character, but equally well-behaved. I still think of him as a pup, but he does have a few grey hairs around the muzzle.