We lost a valued, furry member of our family today.

Meet Twiggy. He was born February 14, 1998 when I was nine years old. He was my Uncle C's dog. He had big black eyes, a warm black nose, and he was extremely possessive of anybody who sat with him on the couch. He liked to rip the squeakers out of toys, liked to chase Choo Choo around my grandmother's house. He liked to play fetch with anything you could throw.

Two days ago, Twiggy was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and heart disease. Unfortunately, there is no treating Pancreatic Cancer in dogs. No surgery could save him, and there is no chemotherapy or radiation treatment available for dogs. It had spread into his head somehow and was giving him chronic nosebleeds. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't breath. Though it pained him, my Uncle C had to make the hardest decision of his life. He doesn't have children. His wife left him. Twiggy has been his best friend for almost thirteen years. Because he loves Twiggy so much, he decided to spare him further pain. He scheduled his final vet visit for one o'clock this afternoon. 

This morning it snowed. Twiggy has always loved snow. And today Uncle C and Twiggy played in the snow together for the last time, and then they took the long drive and Twiggy left us. His thirteenth birthday is in ten days. He's been a part of our family for so long that it's just as hard as losing someone. We all cried. We're all upset. 

And because he was such a good dog, a loyal dog, a protective dog to my sisters and myself as well as to everyone else, I thought that it would only be appropriate to give him a memorial with pictures borrowed from Uncle C. 

He has a hamburger on his head to the left. And the right . . . well, Twiggy liked to grin.

We were always putting clothes on him.

Twiggy liked to beg. And to get into places he didn't belong.

He hurt his paw. I can't remember how.

I always said he looked like a lion with that haircut. Look at his tail.

This stuffed monkey did not last long.

He was not very good at hide and seek.

Twiggy always was a swimmer. And he always liked to walk a lot.

Such a handsome little puppy with the heart of a lion.

Best friends forever.

Rest in peace, Twiggy Alan

February 14, 1998-February 4, 2011

Dear companion, trusted friend.

Really awesome foot warmer.

PS. While we've lost a valued member of our family today, my little sister Lydia (formerly known as Wheat) called to tell me she has added a new member. She rescued a puppy from the freezing snow three days ago, and decided to adopt her this morning because the Humane Society was going to put her down. Not enough space for her, apparently. Not that it eases Twiggy's passing, but it's certainly a happier note to end on. My niece dog's name is Nibbler.