My Dog Buddy

I had to cancel my January 30th Art Market show due to the serious illness of my little dog, Buddy. I wanted to spend every moment I could with him as he was blind and had cancer. His last few days were miserable with headaches (yeah, dogs get those) from a stroke or seizure and trouble breathing. We ended up having him put to sleep early Sunday morning, January 31st. This is one of the last pictures of me with him. My husband took this picture right before we left our house for Riverlands Animal Hospital in LaPlace LA. I was kissing him and smelling his neck and crying. Buddy was a Katrina rescue we were lucky enough to get from USED DOGS in Algiers,LA. He spent 3 weeks in 8 feet of foul floodwater. He went blind and developed yeast infections that would plague him for the next 4 years. In January 2009 he was diagnosed with lymphoma. We chose to have chemotherapy with Riverlands with Dr. Catherine Garon - who was wonderful. We also had him treated with our regular vet, Dr. Janet Tosh - the best vet. He got the best for the past year - home cooked meals - gourmet foods and all the love my whole family could possibly give a pet. He was loved and he knew it. Buddy was 13. My other Shih Tzu, Bandit, was put to sleep in October at age 16. He had a stroke after suffering from dementia for over a year. So I lost both my little Shih Tzus in four months. Bandit was a good dog too and was with us for ten years. We cried for many days in our quiet home and I could hardly stand it. And could not even talk about Buddy and even writing about him makes me cry. These little guys can just tear your heart out.

So this is in memory of my little guys...Buddy and Bandit... Much love Juliette