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Adam and I have
suffered a horrible loss, our beloved Sookee has succumbed to
complications from a Shar Pei fever episode and she went to sleep by
herself on Tuesday with both of us at her side. We are devastated
and grief stricken at losing her so suddenly and unexpectedly.
Those of you who have dogs, I know you understand all too well how
we feel. Those who don't have dogs, I want to share with you also
why our Sookee was so wonderful, and so much more than "just a dog".
We picked up Sookee
from the breeder in Sooke, BC when she was just 5 weeks old. Adam
had begged for a dog for years, and I finally agreed, because our
cat actually liked our friend's beagle Jazz, who came to visit us
regularly. But within 24 hours of being Sookee's Mom, I was in love
with her. She was sweet and adorable, and made it up onto our bed
to sleep with us within the first week. She slept through the night
and wouldn't pee in the house. She became the apple of my eye, my
best friend.
We adopted our second
dog Beau about a year or so later, and after the initial posturing,
they became playful brother and sister, always together, and Sookee
was always tolerant of her big goofy brother, and always the alpha.
Kona was adopted 18 months later and immediately accepted by both
dogs. Nine months later, we brought home our first foster dog for
TNT Shar Pei rescue, Bentley, who was hyper and stressed. Sookee
was wonderful with him, calm and unafraid and by the time he was
ready to be rehomed, he was happily sharing a blanket in the sun
with her on the back deck.
The foster dogs kept
coming, and Sookee, our calm alpha, along with Beau, our "enforcer"
made our work as a foster family easier, always accepting the dogs,
helping them rehabilitate, letting them know how to behave and
reassuring Kona, their big little brother who was submissive.
Then along came
Chloe, the sick mange pup, who was skin and bone. She was the first
female we brought into the home, and a dominant one at that. Chloe
was and is a brat! Sookee tolerated her but didn't warm up to her,
as Chloe was always trying to be the alpha. We had no intention of
keeping Chloe, since Sookee was already our alpha, and we didn't
want to upset her, but when Beau died of kidney failure, and Chloe
was still in our care after 6 months, we reconsidered and wondered
if Sookee would be able to accept her. Sookee did not disappoint
us, and I will never forget the night that Chloe went and lay right
down on the blanket in front of the fire beside her big sister, who
had a much warmer body and allot more fur to snuggle up to. Sookee
even let Chloe up onto the bed, so we could keep her calm and quiet
and all get a good nights sleep on the nights when Chloe's skin was
bothering her.
Sookee continued to
let us bring male and female fosters and let them up on the bed too,
where they weren't supposed to be. "Sookee, you're fired!" we would
tell her. Finally we brought home Sasha, and when we saw Sookee
playing with Sasha, going up and poking her in the shoulder to
instigate play, just like she use to do with Beau, and then the two
of them tumbling like "teddy bears", as we called them, we decided
that Sookee deserved a permanent playmate and a break from the
comings and goings of fostering, and we adopted Sasha for her.
Our darling little females spent most of this winter curled up
together in front of the fireplace, always next to Sookee.
Sookee went with us
everywhere, to Long Beach with Beau, Samish Island, Shuswap Lake,
Gabriola Island, and this summer to Anacortes and Lummi Island,
where we went walking around a beautiful lake and to the beach every
day. Most recently, we took Sookee to Whistler, with Kona, Sasha
and Chloe, and she loved running in the deep snow, doing "head
donuts" and making snow angels, shar pei style!
Sookee went to
Pacific Spirit Park almost every day for her daily off leash walk.
She loved it there and loved to do her "pig run" down the trail to
catch up with us. Sookee loved Spanish Banks at low tide, we
couldn't even spell beach in front of her without her getting
excited! She would run through the tidal pools and roll around in
the muddy sand like a piglet! She even seemed to enjoy swimming,
which shar peis are said not to enjoy.
Sookee was so smart
and sweet. When our dear friend Amanda Muir lost her beloved dog
Ling, last summer, and came to our house in tears and grief, Sookee
climbed on to her lap and licked away her tears until they stopped.
She had Amanda laughing and smiling within an hour, and bossed
around Travis, Ling's border collie brother, which seemed to make
him feel better too. Sookee always licked away tears and loved to
sit in front of you and "kiss" your face, until you made her stop.
Sookee loved people
and loved other dogs too. She would leap for joy and run around
like a puppy at the sight of Uncle Berny and Aunty Theresa when they
came over with her best friend Jazz. She charged down the hallway
to great her Uncle Robert at the front door and wriggle all around
him for five minutes. Sookee's boyfriend was Max, a ducktoller who
lives down the lane, he was her only boyfriend and treated him much
differently than her brothers. Sookee even had two beautiful
Chow-chow friends, Rosie and Lola, and never had a moments
disagreement with them, even when they came in to the vacation home
at Whistler. Sookee loved all her "aunts" and "uncles", and was
always at the door first to greet them and to watch them leave.
We expected allot
from Sookee, and she never disappointed us. We always told her
"Sookee, this is all your fault!' referring to all the dogs in our
home, usually four, sometimes five. Without her acceptance of her
first two brothers and then the countless foster dogs, we never
would have come to volunteer with TNT Shar Pei Rescue and been able
to save so many dogs from the terror of the shelter or worse. We
never would have met Terry and Amanda and all our wonderful rescue
volunteers and foster moms who give so selflessly to help dogs.
We are so thankful
for all our happy memories of Sookee and thankful that just this
past December, her Uncle Dickson (who called us all the way from
Hong Kong last night to express his condolences) took so many
beautiful pictures of her with his new camera up at Whistler.
We'll never forget
our "Miss Potato", "Nookers", Schmoopy, who changed our lives, gave
us love and friendship, and made us laugh almost every single
day. Although we are heart broken that her time with us should have
been much longer, we know she had the best life a dog can have, one
that so many don't ever get to enjoy. We're glad that in the past
week, she had a great run in the forest, chewed on a raw bone, lay
on a blanket in the sun, played on the deck with Kona and Sasha, and
even played in the snow.
In honour of Sookee's
passing, we are going to pick up a little Shar Pei from the shelter
on Monday and bring him home to foster. We know Sookee would have
wanted us to.
I'm sorry to ramble
on, but I wanted you all to know and remember a precious and
wonderful little being who gave so much love and filled our lives
with joy. She was my best friend. I wish I believed in rainbow
bridges, I don't, but I do believe in love and I wish that more
people in this world could give as much love and unselfishness as my
beloved Sookee did. In my heart, Sookee will always be with Beau,
running together on Chesterman Beach on a beautiful sunny morning.
I don't understand why God didn't make dogs to live longer, but I
know why He made them, to show us how to love, to be happy, to see
true loyalty, and be grateful for the gift of life and to show his
love by giving us animals to bring us joy and to care for. I look
forward to the day when all animals will be treated with kindness
and love and be able to enjoy life to the fullest like our beloved
Sookee did.
Written with love by
Sookee's family...
 
TnT Sharpei Rescue © 2002
Webmaster
Email: tdcole@shaw.ca
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