| Intro
Passed from this life Tuesday, April 17, 2001 at 1530. Over Easter weekend she became so
weak she could barely stand. The vet diagnosed a bleeding abdominal tumor, and with her age the only
real choice was to ease her passing. It was not an easy decision, I cried for two days prior knowing the
path to follow, and fell apart the day of. I firmly believe that we assume a certain responsibility to, and duty
for our charges, to whit she did not pass on among strangers, nor alone, or suffering in pain.
Shantree Krystal's Hope was named after her two predecessors combined names.
My first Shetland Sheepdog was Velveteen's Blue Shantree (a blue merle) and her
daughter, Shantree's Midnight Krystal (a tri-color), their picture is on page 17
of the pdf book and below on left 4 down.
Shantree was a tri-color; mostly black and white with splashes of brown. Her
unusual coloring was the white forehead spot had trailers of white to both her collar and nose.
Most tri's have the white spot but not the connecting trailers.
Though she was with me about fifteen years I vividly remember the first time I saw her,
she was part of the only litter available in San Diego County at the time I was looking. Sheri
went with me and she preferred her brother, but I immediately took to Shannie and brought
her home.
She helped me through a lot of times, a loving gentle personality. I trusted her judgment
of the girls I dated during that time period, if she didn't warm up to them, I didn't either.
With my upbringing, she was not an animal nor a pet, but, a valued member of the family. I grieved
as much for her as I would for anyone else I
know. It was even harder at the end when you could see
her dignity was hurting her as much as her illness. As much as it hurt, it is the way she would have wanted
it. Her passing has left a deep hollow in me, and I will always miss her. May she rest in peace. If there is
a dog heaven, I know she is playing there. . . On her last few days she was pretty wasted and just
laid there. Not in pain, just wore out.
During the end she went lethargic, abdominal aneurism, spent her last two days
together before taking her in to ease her transition to the next life.
Her ashes sit on my desk to be added to mine when I pass on.
|
