by Denise
Borita filled many roles in our lives. Devoted friend, confidante', loyal protector and accomplished show dog. As a Certified Therapy Dog, she enriched the lives of many lonely souls. Eleanor at Greenbriar especially will miss her. She loved her dearly and I have not yet found a way to tell she that Borita has crossed over to the Bridge. Her mischievous mind entertained us for hours. Comedy came easy for her. When Tom’s senior Rotty, Mojo (who was twice Borita’s size) was chewing happily on his favorite tennis ball, Borita barked her fiercest bark right in his face. Of course, she scared the daylights out of him and us (we thought a fight would ensue). Mo was so startled he spit out the ball with such force; it "conveniently" landed between Miss Borita’s greedy little paws. Then it was SHE happily chewing on Mojo's favorite tennis ball. If there was ever any doubt of how intelligent she was, this dispelled all of them in about 30 seconds. Never once did she fail to greet us at the door even on days her body ached with the pains of aging. Never once did she disobey a command or give up a game of "get the bad guy", even though she may have been suffering. She lay by our sides when we were sick. Her constant vigils comforted us. So in tune with our emotions, she rejoiced when we did, she grieved when we did and she was ready to play or kiss us at the drop of hat. Her unselfishness was extraordinary. She aged gracefully on the outside. Many people thought she was a pup by her muscle tone, sleek coat, and zest for life. The only give away was the gray muzzle and the gray between her toes. Unfortunately, unaware to us, she suffered silently inside. Her courage and stoicism befitted a true hero. We treasure the time she graced our hearts. Her devotion to MAMA was heartwarming and I know never in my life will anyone love me the way she did. She enjoyed seeing the cows and the horses, laying on our couch, swimming, hiking, and just going for long rides. She would sit in the back seat with her body half up and half down and her nose pointed to the heavens basking in the sun. True contentment was apparent. Oh, yes, and we thank her for showing us all the wild animal tracks during our hikes. As avid wildlife observers, we would have overlooked many signs of the wild, if it weren’t for her keen sense of smell. Her body would indicate if the animal was large or small and approximately how long ago it passed by. We also would have missed all the animal scat (which we had to try to beat her to so she would not ingest it)-that we WON’T miss. We would have missed out on a lot of exciting moments if it weren’t for her keen sense of smell. Her intelligence and ability to learn quickly was amazing. I have trained a lot of dogs, but she excelled. In a matter of minutes she learned to howl with us, carry her food dish (we had to deposit treats in it) and to pick up things that I dropped from poor muscle control. If I fell on ice, she would rush to my side and allow me to lean on her for support, even though her back hurt. She overcame her fear of water and learned to swim at the age of 7 years. She competed in Novice and Veteran’s competition and won many prizes. That didn’t matter to her; being by my side was her life’s joy and reward. She received her Begleithunde title at 10 years. What an achievement! She was terrified of gunfire, but when the helper fired the 2 blank shots during our trial, she stood steadfast by my side. Her whole body quivered and she wanted to bolt (the helper would have been sorry), but she remembered our training sessions and had faith in my judgment that I would not let anyone harm her. I was sorry though and vowed to her that she would never have to hear gunshots again. What a good girl she was. She was so well-behaved and unintimidating (unless you stepped too close to my car) in public, I could take her anywhere. In the mall to sit with Santa. She fiercely protected home, body, and property. Yet, she was gentle and patient with little children whose hands sometimes got so excited they would pinch her ear or pat a sore spot. She never once showed them teeth. They loved her. It was very seldom that I walked down the street that someone didn’t comment on her beauty or good manners. She was not a conformation Champion (she was SG rated in the German Ring), but her beauty was undeniable. She had refinement, soulful brown eyes, nobility and a presence that I doubt we will ever known again in our lives. The squirrels will miss her. First she wanted to chase them, but then she accepted them as she did the ducks and respected their right to enjoy life. I hope she can forgive us for being selfish and not being able to accept her pain or the possibility that she would die alone in agony gasping for air, afraid. We hope we did right by her. She will be sadly missed by Papa, Karen and Kenny, Bubba, Princess, Kitty, Grammy, Greenbriar Nursing Residents, and the girls at the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru (she loved the munchkins). We will never forget her dancing body, smiling face, ears of silk, or deep expressive brown eyes. I will never forget the way she idolized me. I was flattered. She followed me from room to room until her body became tired. She would “protect” me if my boyfriend got too close to me. She would not growl or show teeth, just jump up and face off with him. That was her way of subtly saying to him: “I love you, but I the love MAMA more, so back off Mister.” These images will be forever etched in our hearts. Her passing has shattered our lives. We know with time it will pass and we hope she will never know the pain and agony we endured today when we made this heart-wrenching "DECISION". We held her and kissed her peaceful body, long after it was over. Our love was so deep and pure for her, but in the end it couldn’t save her. We thank GOD that her last walk in the woods was enjoyable and relatively pain free. And we thank GOD for letting us hold her as she crossed over and for bringing this very special little human (who incidentally was dressed in a Rottweiler suit) into our lives. She is missed and we mourn her passing. A strange sidebar: 4 days before Borita passed, something strange happened to us. My boyfriend arose and leaned over the bed and started patting Borita’s head and body (we only had one dog). Well almost immediately, I awoke and starting leaning over my side of the bed and starting stroking her as well. He said “come on, Borita” as he started to leave the bedroom. I said “she is right here next to me” and he said “no she isn’t she is on my side”. I had to turn on the light to show him she was on her bed next to me. I would have heard her moving from his side to mine, but I didn’t and besides she could not have moved that fast upon rising because of the arthritis. Anyway, she let out a scream when she arose to get her breakfast a few minutes later. We think that this: Either her physical body was on his side of the bed and her spirit was on mine or vice versa. We think she wanted to leave us, but could not bear to cause us so much pain. We think she decided to fight the cancer. She went to the acupuncturist later that day and seemed improved and relieved. She was comfortable that night and the suffering started Tuesday morning when the “incident” occurred. She suffered over the next 3 days. With what information we were given, at age 12 years, with so much lung damage, her prognosis was poor and the end was inevitable within the next month. Bleeding to death was possible. We chose to end our suffering and begin ours on Friday a.m. While we waited for the vets, she appeared to have stopped breathing, but each time I was able to call her and shake her out of it. I think Borita did not want to leave us until she knew we could be strong. Please tell me of any similar experiences. I want to reach her from beyond to guide us through this hell. We promise we won’t keep her for long, just until our strength returns.