Mr Poochman's Pooch House

We had to say goodbye to Daisy last weekend. Unexpectedly and quite suddenly Daisy became very ill. We had to make the difficult decision to let her go. Difficult because we loved her but the right decision as Daisy is now at peace. We miss her terribly.

Daisy came into our lives 3 years ago. She wasn’t a rescue as she had been loved and well Iooked after. Unfortunately, she found herself without her original family following a sad and uncontrollable set of circumstances.

Daisy was no shrinking violet. She was made of character and attitude, was full of life, and she fit in immediately. Daisy came to visit us for a trial weekend and never left. Both her choice and ours. Great minds think alike.

Daisy’s star burned brightly. She was ball obsessed and had to be weaned off of hyper-focusing on any and all things spherical whilst indoors. If she had an opportunity to bark, she took it… someone at the door… woof, a sudden noise… woof, in the pooch mobile, anticipating her arrival at the dog park… woof, woof, woof, and awaiting the first throw of the ball at the park… woof, woof, woof, woof, woof (x 100)!

She always announced her arrival at the park and became something of a pseudo-celebrity with the regulars. For a smaller pooch, she had a pretty decent turn of speed and great stamina. And she was never too shy to let any people or pooches know that they had her ball.

Daisy picked her people. She was never rude, but she did view strangers on a treat-value level and only allowed fussage from well-known, designated fussers. Many a park person was left hanging when she walked towards them and then carried on walking as they bent down to stroke her, having already been analyzed by her Beagle nose and found to be treatless.

At home Daisy would enjoy everyone’s company, and enjoyed people she knew if I wasn’t around. She would stay an obligatory 2 minutes extra when I returned before making her move.

For some reason Daisy chose me as her person. She watched everything that I did. She would follow me from room to room or come to join me if I didn’t return to where she was. When I sat she had to sit next to me. If that meant wangling her favourite position from a visiting pooch by deft footwork and not so subtle body placement (wedging herself inbetween me and the other pooch) so be it… If it meant standing, staring and patiently waiting for signs of movement, ok… or if all else failed, making a fuss, why not… it was her rightful position after all!

Of an evening she had to lay next to me, both when I was watching TV and when it was time to sleep. Indeed, when I say “next to me” it doesn’t accurately describe what was happening. She always had to be touching me and was happiest when she could lean into and prop herself up on me. She leant so heavily that if I moved quickly she was likely to roll into my vacated space! She also tracked me whilst I slept to ensure that close contact was maintained at all times. And, of course, should she have to resort to seat placement strategies to arrive at her rightful place, no problem… others could just suck it up!

Daisy’s facial expressions ran a whole gamut, from quite imperious to almost maniacally smiling. She wore her heart on her sleeve and usually let you know what she was thinking and how she felt!

Daisy was warm and soft, cuddly and loving, complex and simple… and she was all these things without trying to be anything but a family puggle… a job for which she proved she was very well qualified! We miss our family puggle immensely.

Run free Daisy Doo… chase as many balls as you like, as long as you like, and bark whenever you feel the need !