This Week's Pet Story
 November
25, 2002 was one of the worst days of my
life. That morning, Mac, a one year old
male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owned
by my ex-wife Amy, suddenly passed away
in front of us at the Palm Springs Desert
Animal Hospital. To this day neither of
us know what killed Mac (we suspect he may
have drank some poisoned runoff water),
but the experience was much more traumatic
than I'd expected. I've always considered
myself more of a "dog person"
and have owned quite a few including a Sheltie,
Beagle and Keeshond, and Mac's passing was
not my first experience in losing a pet.
However, seeing Mac lying stretched out
on a stainless steel table with his eyes
fully dilated made me feel as if I'd been
kicked in the stomach and I could barely
help my sobbing ex-wife walk past the line
of shocked pet owners waiting by the front
desk.
I became acquainted
with Mac when Amy asked me to drive to Majesty
Cavaliers near Temecula, California to help
her pick out a puppy. Until then I'd never
heard of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,
but I became quickly enamored with Mac and
we became fast friends after I informed
Amy that I would be more than happy to puppy-sit
him. I'd never encountered a dog with Mac's
personality and slowly became suspicious
that there really was a little person trapped
in that red and white Blenheim body. I work
out of my home office and one afternoon
became angry at a notoriously obstinate
client. I slammed down the phone, shouted
an obscenity and turned around to see Mac
staring straight up at me with wide, frightened
eyes. He immediately scampered out of my
office with me in hot pursuit shouting,
"Mac, I'm not mad at you!" I'd
only made it halfway down the hall when
my phone rang and I returned to answer it.
As I was speaking to a client, Mac reappeared
with his favorite cloth doll, Mr. Alligator,
and dropped it at my feet. He then looked
up as if to say, "Will this make you
happy?" If there ever was a moment
that defined man's powerful and ancient
connection to the dog, this was it - and
I will never forget it.
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