A Eulogy



 Harrison June 1999 –November 2012


 Back in the year 1987, we were cat people. We doted on Pepper, our calico cat who was, at that point, a mature 10 years old. One evening, as I was idly watching a movie on television, (to this day, I still have no clue as to what the movie was) – something really caught my attention. It was a little puppy – a beautiful little puppy given to the heroin (a young lady) of the movie as a gift. Throughout the movie, all I had eyes for was the little dog. I was totally smitten! With the help of my friend Cathy, we looked up pictures of different breeds of dogs and determined that my little heart throb was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I knew I had to have one, but I felt that the introduction of a puppy would be too disturbing for our aging cat, so I made a pact to get a Cavalier King Charles puppy once Pepper was gone. Well, Pepper lived a lot longer than expected and it wasn’t until 1997 that I turned my thoughts towards finally getting my little dog. Cavalier King Charles puppies were not available in Quebec at the time; we finally met a breeder from the Ottawa area at the Montreal Dog show. To our dismay, there was a waiting time – we would have to wait 2 more years before owning our dog. Sure, other breeds were available immediately, but I was determined that my little dog would be just like the one in the movie, the one that made this cat lady a dog lover. And Harrison was well worth the wait. He was such an adorable puppy, even better than the one in the movie, and so well behaved. In all his life, he never gave us reason to be angry at him. He never chewed shoes, never bit anyone or anything, never messed, never ran off, never barked without cause. He was unique. His love for his ball was legendary – he would play fetch till he was ready to faint. He would growl at garbage bags as a puppy and he never needed a leash. When younger, he would join me on my runs. His enthusiastic greetings when we arrived home made us look forward to coming home, and to alleviate his loneliness while we were at work, Harrison was given a little companion dog, Lady, when he was 2 years old.  


Harrison and Lady - 2004

They were quite a pair, always together, and he seemed very sad when Lady died of cancer at the age of 8. That was when Keith started taking him along on his truck, and together they travelled throughout the United States. But unfortunately, dogs age much faster than we do. The average life expectancy for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels is between 10 and 12 years. Harrison, still handsome at 13, was getting old. He couldn’t travel with Keith anymore, so he came to work with me every day. His hearing was long gone, his legs couldn’t take him up or down the stairs, but he would still wag his tail and rub his head against your legs as a sign of affection. We knew that he wouldn’t live forever, that every day he was with us was a gift, but knowing all this did not ease the pain of losing the most adorable little dog.  Harrison died quietly on Saturday morning, and was buried next to Lady at the cottage. He is and will always be missed.



Christmas 2004

 

Harrison and Nero (David's cat) 2009









Harrison & Keith off to the wild west....