Darcy

(Princess Darcibina Trotsalot

February 1995 - September 8, 2003

Today is Monday, September 8, 2003.  It is one of the saddest days of our lives thus far.  It is the day that we are saying good bye to our little girl boston terrier, Darcy

She is an 8 year old Boston Terrier who couldn’t be any sweeter.  Before we got engaged, Karen said that she didn’t want a diamond ring – instead, she’d take a Boston Terrier – of course, she didn’t expect that I’d take her up on that offer. :)  I looked far and wide, found a wonderful Boston Terrier breeder of champions, and coaxed them into giving up one of their little lovelies.  On Christmas Day, we couldn’t have her yet, so I wrapped up a dog crate… when Karen opened it I’m pretty sure that she squealed in delight.  In fact, we were so excited that I think we called the owners, Glen Boyd and Laurie Paavola, that day (Christmas Day!) and convinced them to let us stop over to have Karen meet Darcy – it was love at first sight… for both of them.  From the day we found each other, Darcy has brought joy to our lives.  The day we picked her up, Darcy was quite scared of us – she shook and shook – she was always quite timid.  She came with a little Indian style bed (see it below) – amazingly enough, the bed lasted with us from day one!  She loves cuddling in that bed – we always like to think that she considered it ‘her mother’ since it came from her original home with Glen and Laurie.

Of course, Karen held her and insisted that we stop at Burger King on the way home for Darcy’s first official treat (that’s Darcy’s favorite word by the way... whenever you say ‘treat’, or the word ‘food’, Darcy’s head tilts in the cutest way :)

In her more recent days, Darcy has had quite a few ailments – everything from:thyroid problems, to losing control of her rear legs, to allergies, skin conditions, and eye scratches (below, you can see how cute she is with a cone on her head).

It is the progressing leg/hip paralysis and blindness that has led to our painful decision – Darcy simply seems to be in pain. She just isn’t enjoying life anymore (no more playing – oftentimes she’ll just stand in place or lay in one spot for hours, and she never picks up her toys at all.)

On a happier note, in the last year or so, we welcomed a new puppy (Zach) to our family. Of course, Darcy was nothing but welcoming for her new bedmate (the fact that she got to steal some of his food from time to time only helped!). Zach was very gentle with her. He played a game in which she took a jab at him and he ran far away, as if she was very vicious. Darcy liked playing with Zach.

Plus, he brought some big new bones into the house...

If we ever couldn’t find Darcy, we always knew that we could look either under the bed, in the sun, or right in front of the heater, on the steps...

Of course, this is the person who Darcy loved more than anyone in the world.  Karen took care of Darcy – countless trips to the vet, medications (pills and shots) delivered, two or three (hundred) floor cleanups in Darcy’s later days, hundreds of hours of carrying Darcy up and down the steps, lots of long, warm baths, and so many loves and kisses – they’re really going to miss each other  :(

Darcy – we’re going to really miss you – we loved you so much. You’ll never be able to know how much you meant to us. There will be a cold spot in the bed tonight – We hope you are warm and safe where you are – we can’t wait to see you again. We love you -- Davey, Karen and Zach.