I was sad to learn that Dominique and Philip had Happy the cocker spaniel put to sleep. He was more than 15 years old (which is older than average for a cocker spaniel), somewhat blind and deaf as well as rather grumpy towards Désirée. He wasn't a bad dog by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, I found him to be a very friendly and agreeable dog. (My take on his dislike of Désirée is that he didn't like her uncoordinated intrusions into "his space" rather any jealousy. Then again, I could be wrong.)His short tail was often in motion and to see him sniff out scents by the roadside was to see a happy dog. He wasn't smart by any stretch of the imagination but then a smart cocker spaniel is almost an oxymoron. He was reasonably smart by cocker spaniel standards.
Another of his shortcomings was that he and Philip's cat Lucky had to be kept apart. I asked Philip if Happy's passing meant more of the house was now open to Lucky. He said yes but that she hadn't quite realized it yet. Lucky has always been a very timid cat. Thinking back, she was about a year and half old when Philip inherited her from (Great) Aunt Lorna. She and her brother Toby (short for October) were found abandoned near Aunt Lorna's house in October of 1993 when they were a few months old. Being a very kind soul, Aunt Lorna adopted them. (Toby was hit by a car the following summer.) This makes Lucky about 17 years old. Older than Désirée's half sister!
Goodbye, Happy.
Happy was grumbling because he was blind and suprised with Désirée suddenly showing up in his "personal space." Justifiable from the dog's point of view, but unnacceptable from a parent's point of view. There's also the fact that Happy required time and energy that Dominique no longer had, what with work and Désiré.
ReplyDeleteLucky has, after a bit under 2 months, discovered the rest of the house.