Faithful Frisky

When I first started these random ramblings, one of the things I promised was that I would tell the stories of some of my personal pets, in addition to those of some of the animals that have passed through the rescue. The time just hasn't been there to sit down and write about all (or even some) of the animals that I have loved over the years.

Still, a promise is a promise and I'm a man of my word. And so, (as it always seems to be) I'm going to "steal" some time from something else that needs to be done in order to fulfill my promise.

This first story is of the best friend I ever had. My Faithful Frisky.

Frisky was the first dachshund I ever owned as an adult. I bought my first home so that I could have Frisky. But, Frisky was not a rescue. Back when I was young and dumb and didn't know any better, I bought Frisky from a "backyard breeder". He was 6 weeks old and I was too uninformed to know that this was far too young for him to be leaving his dam or his littermates. Of course, the "breeder" had already sold his littermates two weeks earlier, so I guess I really didn't do any harm to him by bringing him home at such a young age. It's something I certainly wouldn't do again, though.

Frisky became the light in my life. He stood by me through thick and thicker. No matter how dim things began to look, he was always there, telling me "Don't worry. I love you and we'll get through this together."

And we did.

Then disaster struck - Frisky's back went out just before his 11th birthday. I couldn't abandon him. I got so sick and tired of hearing "it's only a dog". Frisky wasn't "only a dog"! He was my friend. My best friend. The one friend who had never abandoned me and I wouldn't abandon him. Thanks to the generosity of my internet friends, Frisky had the surgery he needed to fix his back and made a full recovery.

Sadly, it was not to be a permanent solution. Six months after being declared "fully recovered", Frisky's back went out again. Different location and this time, he didn't make a full recovery. He didn't need to use a cart, but he never regained full control of his motor skills. And, as with the first time, my internet friends generosity was the only thing that allowed me to help him quickly.

My Faithful Frisky passed from this earthly existance on September 27, 2004. His quality of life was as good as I could make it for him after his second surgery. But the day came when he came to me and said, "I need to go. If you love me, help me." It was the most heartwrenching thing I had ever done, but after all he had done for me during his life, I couldn't deny him even this.

I've heard it said that our lives are shaped by the souls we encounter during those lives. I don't know what direction my life might have taken had Frisky not come into my life. I can't even guess. But I have to believe that it would not have been as richly rewarding as it was during his short stay with me.