Moriarty the Coton de Tulear

04/11/2023

It is coming up on Moriarty's first year since he passed on to his new adventures to bring joy to another family. Of course, I have been thinking of him, Windy, my father, and his dog Paco. No doubt my father has Moriarty playing fetch with him and Paco, and Windy is in his lap begging for belly rubs.

I kept having flashes of times with Moriarty over his life, and I wanted to put them down in words so I would remember, but short of writing a book, nothing seemed appropriate; then I thought, why not just put them down and see how it turned out. Is this a poem, a limerick, or a haiku? Whatever it is, it helps me remember Moriarty and the things he always did, things I miss terribly.

The Love by Mitchell Tuckness

Your entry into the world is heralded with a bell in heaven.
Hale and healthy, or sickly, your love undaunted.
Love, instant, made a soul whole.
Time, steady, ticks on; love grows.
Long walks, short runs, car rides, and belly rubs.
Eyes are constantly tracking, filled with love.
Time, steady, ticks on; love grows.
Energy wanes, and cuddles grow long.
Eyes are constantly tracking, filled with love.
Time, steady, ticks on; love grows.
Days grow long; joints ache, energy wanes, love grows, and eyes track.

Time stops.

Cuddles stop.

Eyes weep, heart deflates, aches, love grows.
Memories flash, hale and healthy, or sickly, love undaunted.
Memories flash of long walks, short runs, car rides, and belly rubs.
Time, steady, ticks on.

In the distance, a bell rings. Hale and healthy, or sickly, a love undaunted, to make a soul whole again.

04/11/2023

02/11/2023

09/01/2023

21/12/2022

20/12/2022

With a broken heart, I let everyone know I lost my little boy, my shadow, and my best, unconditional friend Moriarty Sunday, 12/18/2022.

I noticed last night he wasn’t moving around much, but I just thought he was being lazy and sleeping, making me walk over to him. This morning, I tried to give him his medication, and when I couldn’t get him to come over, I knew something was up. He fell on his side when I lifted him, very weak. I gave him some medication and called the vet. I took him in, and they called me in a while; he was anemic from blood loss, kidney levels were high, and he showed a large mass in the abdomen.

The guess was that the mass was a tumor, and it was bleeding. Moriarty couldn’t hold his head up when I returned to the vets, and they brought him in so I could spend some time with him. I talked to him and let him know I understood and that it wasn’t his fault. I was glad for the 13 years of unconditional love, playing fetch, how he had a love-hate relationship with puppies, and that I never really cared if he hogged the bed, even though I told him I did. I told him I would miss playing fetch. I would miss him sleeping on the back of the chair and his antics on car rides. I’ll miss his gentleness and soft hair, and I will miss him the most.

You’ll forgive me if I post pictures of different stages in Moriarty's life, from a tiny pup to his last few minutes. I know we all love to come here and see our fellow puppies and enjoy their lives; I am sorry I have to include some sadness in that time; we must also understand that the difficult and the painful come with the good. Moriarty was my furry son; I will miss him more every day.

Thank you for thirteen beautiful years, my boy.

15/12/2022

18/11/2022

Hi All. I just wanted to let everyone know that Moriarty isn't feeling well. A couple of weeks ago, he had extreme pain in his abdomen. All the local vets were out, and he seemed ok a couple of days later, so I monitored him. Well, last Thursday, he had another episode, and guess what? His vet was out again. I called the other vet in Hobbs, but the primary vet was in surgery and was not taking new patients. Luckily, a co-worker grew up with that vet and got me in to see their assistant vet.

Well, $1000 later, it seemed he just had constipation. Fast-forward a week, he hasn't eaten anything. So I took him back today. They did another test for pancreatitis, which had returned negative last week, but all his symptoms pointed towards that. The test today came back positive. So he was admitted to the hospital and will be there for two or three days with iv fluids, antibiotics, and pain medications. They will see if they can get him to eat some food, but he will also have nutrients in the IV.

I pray he recovers quickly, not only because it is extremely painful for Moriarty, and I hate that, but it costs a fortune. I'll post any updates I get. He was doing well tonight, without vomiting or diarrhea, though he hadn't eaten anything.

03/11/2022

25/06/2022

My nemesis, Montague. As if that is even his real name! Grrrr.