| About Sniffles |
We know very little about Sniffy's life before he came into ours and brightened it
forever. Sue found him on his leash, tied to a dumpster, at our neighborhood
convenience store when we lived in suburban Pittsburgh. The clerk said someone
left him there much earlier that day. It was too hot for him to be outside that July
day, without water as he was, so Sue took him home with her. She gave the clerk
our phone number in case Sniffy's parents came looking for him.
Sue posted flyers in the neighborhood and placed an ad in the newspaper
classifieds. We got lots of calls, but none looking for Sniffles. It was a good thing,
though, because Sue had already fallen madly in love with him.
It was obvious that he had been a loved pet, but a neglected pet. For example, he
slept between us in our bed the first night, but his hair was very, very long, matted
and dirty and he only had five teeth left. He also had a heart condition. We can't
believe that tiny old man lived for five more years. The vet even warned Sue that
if we kept him, we would get attached and only have him for a year or two at best
and that we might be setting ourselves up to be heartbroken. The vet was wrong
about how long the tough old dog would last, but he was right about getting
heartbroken eventually. However, it was very, very worth it - Sniffles was the best
friend anyone could ever have.
His kitty brothers and sisters loved him dearly, even though he liked to boss them
around sometimes. They all were the same size and sometimes we wondered if
Sniffles had a dog/cat identity crisis going on. Sniffles made everyone smile, even
total strangers. He also helped our young nieces and nephew overcome their fear
of dogs.
Prior to March 2002, he battled kidney disease for a year and a half and bladder
cancer for his final 6 months. In early March, he started to go down hill and he was
very ill for the last several days of his life. Late at night on Thursday 3/14/02, we
took him to the vet and they said it was the end of the road for our weary traveler --
his kidney failure was beyond repair.
We spent that night and all day Friday 3/15 with him, crying, hugging, kissing,
thanking and saying goodbye to him. He was put to sleep in the late afternoon and
we buried him in our backyard. We will always love, miss and think about our
beloved Sniffles.
forever. Sue found him on his leash, tied to a dumpster, at our neighborhood
convenience store when we lived in suburban Pittsburgh. The clerk said someone
left him there much earlier that day. It was too hot for him to be outside that July
day, without water as he was, so Sue took him home with her. She gave the clerk
our phone number in case Sniffy's parents came looking for him.
Sue posted flyers in the neighborhood and placed an ad in the newspaper
classifieds. We got lots of calls, but none looking for Sniffles. It was a good thing,
though, because Sue had already fallen madly in love with him.
It was obvious that he had been a loved pet, but a neglected pet. For example, he
slept between us in our bed the first night, but his hair was very, very long, matted
and dirty and he only had five teeth left. He also had a heart condition. We can't
believe that tiny old man lived for five more years. The vet even warned Sue that
if we kept him, we would get attached and only have him for a year or two at best
and that we might be setting ourselves up to be heartbroken. The vet was wrong
about how long the tough old dog would last, but he was right about getting
heartbroken eventually. However, it was very, very worth it - Sniffles was the best
friend anyone could ever have.
His kitty brothers and sisters loved him dearly, even though he liked to boss them
around sometimes. They all were the same size and sometimes we wondered if
Sniffles had a dog/cat identity crisis going on. Sniffles made everyone smile, even
total strangers. He also helped our young nieces and nephew overcome their fear
of dogs.
Prior to March 2002, he battled kidney disease for a year and a half and bladder
cancer for his final 6 months. In early March, he started to go down hill and he was
very ill for the last several days of his life. Late at night on Thursday 3/14/02, we
took him to the vet and they said it was the end of the road for our weary traveler --
his kidney failure was beyond repair.
We spent that night and all day Friday 3/15 with him, crying, hugging, kissing,
thanking and saying goodbye to him. He was put to sleep in the late afternoon and
we buried him in our backyard. We will always love, miss and think about our
beloved Sniffles.
Sniffles was our great little dog - a stray - a mix of
possibly bichon frise, miniature poodle, maltese,
and westie. He was about 15 years old or so,
several vets guessed, when Sue found him. He was
9 pounds of pure, unconditional love and joy for
the 5 years that he graced our lives from May 1997
to March 2002.
possibly bichon frise, miniature poodle, maltese,
and westie. He was about 15 years old or so,
several vets guessed, when Sue found him. He was
9 pounds of pure, unconditional love and joy for
the 5 years that he graced our lives from May 1997
to March 2002.
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