Amber

On October 6, 2014 we lost Amber, our wonderful friend. She was 14 years old.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

We found her at the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA when she was about 10 months old. She had been abused and abandoned by her previous owners and we soon learned that she was extremely fearful though not aggressive. When I picked her up at the SPCA she was reluctant to get into the car but with some encouragement and a bit of help she did get in. In the process I inadvertently brushed the back of her leg with my hand and she instantly dropped to the floor of the car and looked back at me with fear in her eyes. This reaction to accidental contact from behind  persisted for years though it gradually decreased with time.

On my way home from the SPCA I stopped at the pet store to pick up some food and while I was in the store someone came in and asked if the owner of a brown and white dog was in the store and, if so, did they know that the dog was running loose. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about Amber! I went out to find her about 75 feet away at the end of the sidewalk of the mini mall. I had left the car window open, too much it seems, as she was able to squeeze through it.  I called her and, to my surprise, she came right to me and was less reluctant to get back into the car.

While walking her through the house to orient her to her new home, when we got to our bedroom she immediately leaped onto the bed and lay down looking very comfortable and pleased with her find. We informed her that this was not acceptable and that was the last time she was on a bed in our presence. But, though she had her own beds, we know that while we were away and she was in the care of her friend Mary, she was able to avail herself of the extra comfort of one of our beds.

A number of undesirable habits she had acquired took time and work to change and some never did. Her strong separation anxiety persisted and it meant that, after being away for even a short time, we were met with an extremely emotional and active greeting on our return. She learned to control this to some degree by picking up a shoe or a toy, preferably a shoe, and holding it in her mouth while jumping up, walking back and forth excitedly accompanied by crying, mumbling and muffled barking around the shoe. Similar vigorous activity greeted anyone who entered our house and, as our friends know well, her barking and competing for attention could go on for several minutes.

Her habit of jumping up, unexpectedly and extremely quickly, to "kiss" one's face, could be a disarming and somewhat annoying surprise.

And her playfulness with shoes, which she never chewed, led to shoes being scattered about the house and, as a consequence, it was occasionally difficult to find a pair to wear.

Her other many endearing personality traits, however, far outweighed any of those that could be slightly annoying.

Her favourite place was at our cabin by Crow Lake - a place where she could be off leash and free,

where she could cool off in the lake (which she invariably did immediately on arrival) or

soak up the heat of the sun or chase the turkey vultures soaring a hundred feet or more above her.



She liked being at the lake so much that often when we returned home she refused to get out of the car!






A few years ago she suffered an infestation of mites causing hair loss and almost constant itching and scratching. We discovered that she had hypothyroidism and treatment of that and getting rid of the mites rejuvenated her and her wonderful coat and energy returned.

During the last year or so she began to slow down significantly, moving more slowly and having some difficulty climbing stairs but with periods of playfulness and "dogged" determination to carry on.

This past summer at the lake she gradually became a bit more active and more like her old self, even breaking into a brief run during our walks.

The photo, left, was made on one of our morning walks in mid September this year. She was 14 years old so we knew that she would not be with us much longer, but with the increased energy over the summer we hoped that she would have one more time at Crow Lake during Canadian Thanksgiving in October. But, on the night before we were to leave for that Thanksgiving week at Crow Lake she suddenly became very restless and then unable to walk normally. She was in significant distress, enough that we were pretty certain that the time to make the dreaded decision had arrived. Fortunately, we were able to contact her Vet who encouraged us to bring Amber in.  That evening we lost Amber, our wonderful friend and my constant companion for over 13 years.
The decision was painful but obvious. The Vet was wonderful with her and the process was quiet and peaceful.

At home and at Crow Lake her presence is felt everywhere though she is nowhere to be seen.  There is now a large hole in our lives. We will miss her terribly. 

These last two images are the way I hope to  remember her - above left, during one our walks this September and the image to the right above - Amber walking home to the cabin at Crow Lake on the Thanksgiving weekend, 2013. There is a third image that I will never forget, though I have no photo of it - a much younger Amber at Crow Lake, running, with ears laid back, full tilt through the grass just for the obvious fun of running! A marvellously joyful and unforgettable image!