© 1996-2007 Gay Currier

From the moment of his arrival, Andy was a perfect fit for our family. He had an excellent disposition, was generally well behaved, very affectionate and eager to please. He was a clown of the first order with a multitude of talents. His skills at earth moving (he didn't just dig holes, he excavated canyons), landscaping (he was a master at moving shrubbery) and remodeling (he altered the shape of our deck more than once) were fine tuned and he was tops at manipulation (who could ignore those gorgeous sad brown eyes). And he was so much fun! At 10 years of age, Andy continued to exhibit a true zest for life. He loved to work, racing around the house with the leash in his mouth when it was time for us to leave. In his younger days, he graduated at the top of his first obedience class and continued through advanced novice attention classes. On his first day in puppy agility he fell in love with the contact obstacles, scampering to the top of the dog walk at every possible opportunity. Although he preferred to run a course of his own choosing, Andy loved nothing more than to sail two feet clear over the jumps with a huge grin on his face. This is one dog who knew how to have a good time-a very good time!

Update: In September, 2006 at 13 years of age Andy was diagnosed with lymphoma. From the moment I heard the diagnosis I felt overwhelmed. Having lived with Katie through 42 months of lymphoma, I wasn't sure I had the strength to go through all of that again. I scheduled an appointment with Katie's oncologist who encouraged me to give chemotherapy a try with a primary goal of quality of life rather than length of life. Although the first two chemotherapy agents we tried were unsuccessful, our third choice was effective with little to no adverse effects. More than three months after his initial diagnosis Andy is in full remission and enjoying life as always. Right now his weak rear end is giving us more trouble than the lymphoma. To help him in that respect he is receiving regular acupuncture treatments and herbs for rear end weakness.

After more than 6 months on chemotherapy with an excellent quality of life, Andy's rear end gave out and he told us in no uncertain terms that he was ready to go. Thanks to a dear friend who also happens to be a veterinarian, Andy spent his last minutes here at home in his favorite room with my arms around him. I still glance at his favorite dog bed and expect to see him there on his back, all 4 feet in the air. He is greatly missed.