Honoring Freckles

Before you start reading, rest assured this is not a maudlin account of a dog's life lost. It's a salute to the tenacity of one special party pup. Get past the two sentences and you'll be fine.

For those of you not in the know, Freckles Warrior Princess--a 15.5 year old shih tzu/llasa apso mutt--moved along this weekend. Call it what you will--suffice it to say, she's moved on, gone to terrorize Lucy in a much bigger dog park than those found here on Earth.

Freckles was always in charge. She demanded other dogs bow down in her presence. Despite many training efforts and obedience interventions, she always stood bigger than her actual stature. How she didn't get ripped to shreds by bigger dogs, I do not know. Most dogs cowered when she snarled her lip and growled in warning. Some dogs peed on themselves after rolling over in her presence. She had power and she knew how to assert it. More than once I had to intervene when she voiced her vibrato. With her regal dignity emanating from her furry being, she made it know she was not going to share her throne. Gotta love that tenacity as long as no fur flies and no muzzles are required.

She lived up to her breed. The Llasa is known for being "one of the hardiest, toughest, and strongest willed of all the small breeds. It is said that "when a Lhasa Apso looks in the mirror, he sees a lion." That couldn't be more true. She roared. Little? She wasn't little at all. Frail? Not a chance. She was aristocratic, strong and stubborn up until the very end.

Freckles was loyal beyond measure. When the wife was down for the count with her horrible back woes, Freckles refused to leave her side. The photo here shows Freckles protecting the wife as she lay in pain, ice pack on side. The face says it all: Leave my mistress alone. I'm not leaving. She suffered no fools gladly. Llasa apso and shih tzu breeds are known for being guard dogs. She made the breed proud. Oh, how we would dread when someone would ring the doorbell--the guard dog in this little lion came roaring out.

It may have appeared Freckles only tolerated Lucy but in reality, Freckles was all about protecting her. It was one of FWP's most admirable traits, but it was also a downfall, as it did not help in her "need to be in charge around other dogs" way of being. No one was going to mess with Lucy. No one. Truly a protective big sister. Bullies, beware.

Freckles was gifted in the field of psychiatry. When I would take her to work, she'd be-bop between people, giving love as appropriate...then, suddenly she would screech to a halt, right at the feet of a client. Incredibly (or not). she could sense if someone was psychiatrically decompensating. She would back away as if to take a longer look, no frolicking to be had. I'd make a mental note of her diagnosis and follow up later, as she was right 9 times out of 10. If she pointed someone out, they usually were indeed starting to decompensate. Thanks to Freckles, I was able to secure additional supports for several clients before I would have ever noticed they needed it.

Of course, this intuition put a damper on her therapy dog status; after all, she was backing away from the folks who might most benefit from a furry friend. Ah well, she didn't really like the therapy dog gig. She wanted to pick people on her own terms, not mine. Her therapeutic interventions were just "different" than the traits needed to serve in the traditional capacity.

Freckles was stoic, stubborn and really hard to potty train. Oh, that potty training! I swear she would look at us and say, "I'll pee where I want to, bitches."  While Lucy was happy-go-lucky, all laughs, energy, simple and potty trained in a day, Freckles had a mind of her own. Perhaps she was too smart for her own good. She learned tricks in a matter of minutes yet refused to fully comply with potty training for many, many months (as proven by the condition of our rug). Perhaps part of that was my fault as I tried to teach her to ring a bell when she wanted to go outside.....

Instead, I taught her to ring the bell when she wanted a treat. Smart dog. She knew what she was doing.

Freckles had a lot of health problems; in fact, it is a miracle she lived as long as she did. (I'd like to credit all the organic, expensive food she ate along the way but it was probably her stubbornness that kept her around.) Here she is, showing off her cast after she ripped off one of her nails, thus requiring surgery. She heeled on the brink of death a few times while traversing this life. I've got the vet bills to prove it. I finally had to have a talk with her during her brush with death at age 10, I explained this had to be it--no more giant medical interventions, I told her I would do what I could, then gave her warning that she needed to get her act together. I ended our talk by telling her she would have to live until 16 years old for me to get my money's worth.

She almost made it, god love her. Not only did she strive to give us those six additional years, she did it without costing us more than the annual things all dogs need. Now, that's a loyal, determined dog.

In the end, Freckles morphed into a lumpy, crusty, rather smelly, hard of hearing, mostly blind crumudgeon-flavored of a dog...but, she still triumphed in the world, remaining regal, loyal and stubborn until her time ran out. She wanted to make it to that "fourth-last Christmas," but her body had other ideas. Freckles made sure she didn't miss a meal, a treat or a car ride. She proudly demanded to go "out" when it was time. A Queen does not piddle in the house (well, unless said Queen wants to piddle in the house). She continued to guard the house when we went to work, facing the deck as if to say, "I dare you to try and get it."

I'm smiling as I type, as I'm so glad this dog came into our lives. The memories may squeak out my eyes every once in awhile, but they are happy squeaks. Thank you to a most wonderful warrior of a princess pup. We will alway cherish memories of you ruling the palace.