FREMONT AUGUST 12, 1991-MAY 8, 2007 Fremont became part of our family in October of 1991, he was 9 weeks old. He was the calmest of his litter mates, but that didn’t last long. Once he decided he would be part of our family he became a staunch defender of our home and family members. He had some definite ideas on how we should spend our time and we always tried to accommodate him. He slept when we slept, taking up all the room in a king size bed. Although we vowed he would sleep in his own comfy bed, after about 5 hours of up and down, along with his crying all night, we gave in. We picked him up and for the next 14 years he slept in our bed. He would rarely eat his food until we were eating, as if to say “What no table food – I’ll show you, I’ll eat my food and you won’t get any”. Fremont loved Christmas opening presents and knocking the decoration off the bottom of the tree. As a puppy he loved his family – other people now that was another story; when a stranger, to him, would come to the house it would take 30 minutes before he would be calm enough to sit and then for the next 30 minutes every time the stranger would move he would be right back on guard. His first love was the lab next door; he spent all his time outside trying to get through the fence or under it to visit her, it was not to be. He made an over night trip to the vet, after that we were not to be grandparents. He was our little boy; we loved him so much that he could do no wrong. Luckily, he did out grow his bad habits, in his puppy years he destroyed 7 TV remotes, all the silk flowers, and he loved potpourri. He had to be confined when we weren’t home, so we bought an extra large crate for him, that after a while he decided that was his place when he wanted to be alone. When we first got the crate, after picking up our daughter from school when we got home Fremont was looking through the curtains at us, another disaster in the house, potpourri, flowers all over the house, and another broken remote. We thought he was Houdini, how in the world did he get out. Well the crate was assembled up side down the top was open. We still laugh about that one. Our boy loved to sit on our lap and just smell the outdoors, he so enjoyed watching birds, cruising around the yard in warm weather chasing butterflies, smelling the flowers or just the air itself. He loved getting his ears scratched. He would be the first one to know when someone or something was outside, at the slightest noise, he would be at the window looking out. Oh, how I wish I had pictures of him going down the stairs just on his front paws and his back legs up in the air. Sometimes he looked like a little deer with his ears straight up and he would prance though the house. No human in the world would treat us like he did, he was always so happy to see us whenever we came home; he would dance around in circles and run up and down the hall. He would look at you with those beautiful dark eyes and you would be in awe of how precious being could love us so much and trust us so much. He always had a smile on his precious face. Wherever we were he was also. We can still see and feel his presence in the house. He loved playing tug of war, he won every time. These were the days we thought would never end. Oh GOD, I wish we had them again and taken more pictures of him. We adopted each other on a Sunday and his vet appointment was on Tuesday that’s when we found out he had worms. Being our first pet we were a little uneasy about that. So he slept with our oldest daughter until he saw the vet. He needed special shampoo and vitamins for his skin because he had schnauzer dermatitis. Fremont hated to have a bath; after we dried him he would run like a mad man all over the house rubbing himself on anything to get drier. But the best times were just loving him, and it was so easy to just cuddle and love on him and he loved it. Our oldest daughter Kelli had a puppy that had died of Parvo. I guess we carried the virus home on our shoes, even though Fremont had his shots; he still came down with a mild case of Parvo. He didn’t have to be hospitalized, but we brought him to the vet every day. He was 17months old and the vet said his age and having his shots up to date is why he survived When he was 6 years old he needed bladder surgery and life changed drastically. For him- he was put on a special prescription diet and could only have distilled water to drink, no more treats just raw carrots and white rice, the vet said make him a little salad for a treat, which he loved. But anything to ensure a good life. One day he got into the trash and ate some cooked salmon. Food poisoning, he was so sick we rushed him to the vet on Saturday morning. For the next 3 days he was on an IV, he was such a brave boy, on Tuesday he was more than ready to leave the vet’s. From then on, we very careful to put the trash out of his reach, when we weren’t in the house with him. Looking back now I wish didn’t take so much for granted. His continuous barking when stranger would come to the house. The day would come when I would give anything in the world for him to do that instead of just laying on his bed, looking so helpless. My angel what were you thinking. In February of ’04 the vet diagnosed him with a category 4 heart condition. But as long as his lungs were clear there was no need for medicine, we knew he had an enlarged heart. We were worried, but it never seemed to bother him, running and playing all he wanted. Fremont was a house dog, he would go out for about 20 minutes and then he was ready to come back inside, as he got older we would carry him up and down the stairs to make it easier on him. Despite, his problems he did well. The vet was always impressed with his condition. He always looked handsome and his weight staid at 20-21 lbs. for 14 years. Early on a Saturday morning at the end of June ’05, he had a seizure it seemed like an eternity before I could reach him even though he was in the kitchen with me. I screamed for my daughter, Christina, my husband had just left for work. I grabbed Fremont and, with my daughter driving at least 90 miles per hour, we rushed to the emergency vet. Fremont was just looking at me, breathing so hard all I could do was to hold him close to me and try and sooth him. I will never forget that day; I thought he was dying in my arms. He was so scared, but all he did was look at me for help. Our daughter was crying, this wasn’t supposed to happen when I was home (she was in her last year of college and home for the summer). We were seen right away, after a minute or two, the vet had a tear in her eye and a smile on her face. She said, “I thought I was going to tell you very bad news.” But Fremont did not have a stroke, he had idiopathic vestibular syndrome, he would recover from this. He was a pampered pup after we got home with him. His balance was way off at first, he couldn’t get off the couch by himself and he would bounce off the walls walking down the hall, but as time past he kept getting better. It was the first time, in almost 14 years; the thought entered my mind- we could lose our Fremont. That night we went on the internet and read all we could find about IVS. We were so relieved to know although it is scary to see, it is not fatal. Well, we carried him even more. The hardest part was he could no longer sleep in our bed, for his own safety. Oh sweet Fremont, what were you thinking. I think back and wonder if we could have done things differently, I pray that you never thought you did any thing wrong, that’s why you weren’t sleeping with mommy & daddy. I laid awake many nights worrying about you roaming through the house at night by yourself. We don’t think you were ever happy in your new bed, because it was on the floor beside our bed. You never liked to lie on the floor, only a couch, chair or bed. I wish more time was spent trying to help you adjust to the new lifestyle, instead of all at once. In spite of everything you came out of it well, your little head wasn’t tilted any more and you seemed fine. Mommy would kiss you on your nose a hundred times a day and you would try to snip at my nose, so all was well. But, 3 months later, you had a second attack. Christina came right over, she had a hurt knee so the 2 of you were resting on the couch, the vet had given you a sedative, and so both of you were resting comfortably. You were prayed for constantly. By Oct of ’05, we had built you a handicapped so you could get back in house when you were ready, you couldn’t go down it just up. We took Fremont to Auburn University, Veterinary Clinic and they confirmed what we already knew, except his heart had gotten worse. But they did prescribe several new medicines, prednisone, antibiotics, and anti-dizziness medications; what a difference, he ran up the ramp when we got home. He was still holding his own. We used to pray: Dear Lord, please don’t have us to make a decision to take that final last ride with our boy. I would put you on the bed with your little furry baby and one hand on you, and just lay there and enjoy your love. The thought that our time together was coming to an end never occurred to us (I think we blocked it out of our minds). It didn’t matter to us if we had to carry you every where, you were eating, drinking, and still had those times when the puppy in you showed. Your groomer, Emily, was wonderful; she was so good to you. She has a Hydro-bath that you just loved, you always enjoyed going there. We had your picture taken with Santa, and you hammed it up for the camera. Well it’s hard to tell a story that encompasses almost 16 years; of the love that comes but once in a life time. Your last Christmas in 2006 we put you under the Christmas tree with your Christmas coat on and you just smiled. Mommy cried into the night, because you were so still, and the bones on your back were starting to show and your little stub of a tail was longer. This is when your weight started to go down almost 5 lbs in the next 5 months. You had been there for us through so many bad times, cancer, surgeries, and you always cheered us up. We kept you dressed up, so you would stay warm because you had arthritis so bad. Your legs had started giving you problems, you couldn’t stand very well, and you couldn’t walk on bare floors. We came home and found you on the kitchen floor unable to get up, after that we made sure that the house was safe for you, so that the only places you could go were carpeted. The last few months had been such a blur, every time we took you to the vet, you had lost a little more weight, and you were down to 16 lbs. Sometimes we would hold and rock you, the world would, for a few moments, and it would seem like better times when you were healthy. You never once complained how your world was changing. Your balance was getting worse, you would fall down and we would pick you up and you would continue on your way. But you still had many good days. Towards the end we were doing everything we could, hoping that a miracle would happen. We would boil chicken, we would jump at every time you made a sound, we gave you pedialite with a syringe, but in the end it was time for you to rest. Even though it has been 6 months since you lost your battle, I can remember that last day, like it was today. I had told my wife, Arlene, that we would know when it was time for that last trip to the vet. I had just come home from work and took Fremont outside like everyday, but this day wasn’t. As I stood with Fremont, he looked so pitiful, I looked at Arlene and we both broke out in tears and we knew it was time for that longest ride. The vet we went to was an emergency vet, she was a very good person and did all she could to help us with this time. We spent those last minutes with him, and as we held him he went to a happier place. While we waited in another room, the vet laid him to rest coffin with his blanket, and put flowers on top of the coffin. Because he had, for almost 16 years, been the first one to greet me I buried him in the front yard in a shady spot with flowers so he would have the butterflies, which he loved so much, around him. GOOD BYE MY FRIEND ~*~ ~*~