The first time I saw him the hair in the middle of his forehead was sticking up all Spiky like a punk rocker. He was a tiny little thing -- fit in the palm of my hand, and he was chasing a much larger Dachshund (Teckels as they call them in Europe, where I was living at the time) about the room. I immediately named him Spike and he lived up to that name his entire life.

He never had any fear of anything except fireworks and thunderstorms -- but he would just bark like crazy when he heard them.

He loved everyone and everything (except visits to the vet and groomers, which he tolerated, and was always the perfect little gentleman). Except every now and then, he had to display his authority, and God forbid the unknown dogs passing by that I displayed too much affection to. He growled and challenged many huge breeds of dogs (his little 4 pounds against their 100s!). A Great Dane, Bouviers, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepard's, Rottweilers, Pittbulls, etc. He just did not seem to think of himself as a little guy. One thing is for sure, he was a little guy, with a huge guy's heart, body, and soul.

Never in my life have I encountered a dog so human, and with such an expressive face as Spike's. Every single emotion that a human can display on their face, so could Spike. He knew how to get whatever he wanted, when he wanted, and would not take no for an answer. Spike was definitely a one of a kind dog that put his tiny feet down, and demanded to be seen and heard whenever he felt it would get him what he wanted. Several times, he had me so worried as he seemed so depressed and sick. I would take him to the vet, and all of a sudden he was miraculously healed! I discovered that the little rascal would do this to keep me home from work so I could be with him. He could have won the Academy Award for all his performances to win my love, attention, and anything else he wanted.

None of my companion animals stared at me with love the way Spike did. He would just lie on the floor and stare at me for hours with overwhelming, unconditional, all consuming love. Some of the cats and my other dogs would stare at me sometimes. But Spike was always staring at me -- not taking a glance away from me. He reminded me of Eddie, the little Jack Russell Terrier on the show "Frasier". Eddie was the companion animal of Martin (Frasier's Dad), who lived with him. The only difference is that it annoyed Frasier when Eddie would stare at him. Frasier would complain to his dad -- "Dad, he's doing it again!" His dad Martin would say -- "stop staring at him!" Frasier would say, "but he is staring at me!" -- Martin replied -- "I was talking to the dog"!

I miss his large beautiful eyes looking at me like no other animal has in my life. I will never be able to get his adorable little face looking at me with such love and affection out of my memories. I can see his little face looking at me, and then, think of one of the many funny little things he would do. Sometimes when he was sitting on my lap, he would rub his little head against my belly, look up and me, and then do it again. It was silly and always made me smile, laugh out loud, and cuddle him so.

Yes, those eyes -- those amazing eyes that allowed me to look so deeply into his soul.

I was beating myself up thinking when was the time to do it, as he would start to go downhill, and I thought I do not want him to suffer -- is it time? Then, as only my tough little guy could, he would look at me alertly with those eyes, and I could tell that he was telling me "do not give up on me yet, I am not ready to leave you!" He would pull himself up, look at me, and say "no way, I am not giving up the fight yet!"

On the night of February 17th at 12:30 a.m., I was sitting on the couch with Spike in my lap. My other dogs, Sophie, Winston, and Teddy were on the couch with us as well. All of a sudden his tiny body stiffened, I frantically picked him up in my arms and then he just went limp -- I CRIED AND CRIED, SPIKE, SPIKE, NO, NO, NO, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME! However, just as Spike lived his life, defiant, and by his own rules, he decided it was time for him to leave. I know he left me exactly the way he wanted to -- in my arms, holding him so lovingly. I held him all night and in the morning I took him to my vet, where I arranged for him to be cremated, and have his ashes returned to me.

In all the research I've done on animals, I read when a dog, who is a member of a pack dies, it's best if all the members get to see their body in order for them to grieve properly, and have closure.

A couple of months before he passed I saw a special on wolves. It's hard to believe, every single breed of dog is derived from these magnificent and noble creatures. In the special a coyote killed a member of a wolf pack. The rest of the pack mourned his loss for two months.

When he died a strange and eerie silence fell over our place. The overall mood was indescribable. The pack was mourning the loss of their eldest member, Spike, the first dog in my life. Even the cats were quiet. They would come to me as if to cheer me up. They were very respectful about the loss of Spike.

There will never be another Spike. Everyone who spent any time with him loved him, and he loved them back. He truly was a special and amazing dog.

Spike, my precious little guy, I hope you're happy where you are. I know you're with Sadie, Sophie, Winston, and now little Teddy. The original pack is back together again.

Please don't fight with Winston. Oftentimes you fought for my attention. Now you need to be good and keep each other happy. I feel as if you're both watching over me. You always followed me everywhere. You wouldn't let me out of your sight. You wanted to make sure Mama was okay.

I miss and love you all. Please, take good care of each other until I am able to be with you again.

Always My Love,

Mama

After the death of Sophie in 2008 I longed for another female Yorkie. In 2009, I rescued little Stella, a Chihuahua/Yorkie.

After Winston died in 2011, I rescued a little Yorkshire Terrier William.

This is my new pack and they love each other dearly.

I urge everyone to please adopt. There are so many dogs that need homes. Please don't line the pockets of breeders. Every time that you buy a dog, a shelter dog dies. If you would like a particular breed of dog (like I am partial to Yorkshire Terriers) you can find them at shelters or the website "Petfinder.com" I rescued Stella and William from them. I also urge everyone to think before you adopt a dog. Do you have the much needed time they require? Can you afford the vet bills?

Do your research about the activity level, upkeep, etc. if you want to get a certain breed of dog. For example, Yorkies require a lot of attention, and upkeep (i.e. grooming) in order to keep them healthy.

Thank you for visiting my little guy's residency!