The first time I saw Suzi was our last summer in Austria of 1980. Mom took us to a Dachshund breeder so that we could pick out a doxie to take home to New York with us. We needed to do this because one of our doxie's, Trixie was very old. Anyway, instead of one doxie, we ended up bringing two sisters back with us. Pandora and my suzi. Suzi became my dog really and Pandora became my brothers dog. Pandora passed away in 1990. It took Suzi as long as it took us to recover from our loss. Suzi was actually the best thing that could have happened to a shy teenage girl like me. She was witty, gentle, understanding, loving and my best friend. She had lots of favorites such as playing ball, walks in the park or even allowing me to dress her in my doll clothes but I think our favorite past-time was during the evenings when the family sat around watching tv. I would sit on the floor cross legged and Suzi would immediately crawl into my lap, cuddle and fall asleep. She was great for me when it came to guy troubles, friendship troubles and even when my boyfriend (now my husband) and I broke up. She always knew how to cheer me up. In 1991, I had to bid Suzi good-bye because I was moving down to Lousiana to be with my boyfriend. It was probably the hardest thing I had ever done. I wanted to move but missed Suzi so much. I looked forward to visiting her in New York on occasion and spending what time I had, with her. She was my "Sooz" as I called her. When I visited around late fall in 1996, I had a horrible feeling that this would be the last time I would ever see her again. She looked so old and tired that it broke my heart. I took her out to our terrace and said a silent farewell. She looked up at me as if in understanding and gave me one last affectionate lick. It was like we both knew. April of 1996, I recieved a phone call from mom telling me that Suzi had had a tiny stroke and they had to put her to sleep. It hurt terribly because I wasn't there with her like I had always hoped but then we had said out good-byes. A part of me had gone that day with Suzi and though I had two other dogs at the time (still do) who I love very much,they never totally took Suzi's place in my heart. She had been a part fo me for a good sixteen years of my life and I thank her for that. On January of 1997, I lost my mother to Bone Cancer a week after my daughter was born and it broke my heart but it is warm to know that right now she could be up at Rainbow bridge with all four of our doxies- Trixie (Her special dog), Dirndel, Pandora and Suzi. My life has gone on but there is never a day I don't think of little Sooz and I know that one day I will see her again and she'll sit in my lap like she always did and we'll just enjoy that special time together. For now, I have joined in fostering Doxies in need of a home and hope that one day I will find a little Sooz among them that I can call my own. Suzi may be gone but her memory is still strong in my thoughts. I will always love her. "Thank You Suzi for being my friend, my best friend. Know that I love you and will never forget you."