Our beloved dog, Dino

It has been ages since my last blog post. I have been so busy this school year that I have neglected this blog. So sorry! I promise to write more now that I am on spring break.  I wanted to do a post about my dog Dino. He was such a special pet. 

I remember it like it were yesterday, the day I saw Dino for the very first time. 

It was the end of summer 2001, I was just about to start my first year of college. My family and I had gone to visit several animal shelters but had no luck in finding the perfect dog. It wasn't until we visited the last shelter of the day, Yonkers Animal Shelter, where I spotted Dino next to a hound dog. What I remember most about that day is the way Dino looked. He had beautiful white and black fur. The shelter worker asked if we would like to take him for a walk, but we walked right out with him! We adopted him on the spot.

On September 9th, 2001, Dino came home to live with us. He was truly the best pet/companion anyone could ever hope for. He had such a sweet demeanor and always wanted to run around and play. I remember he loved to have balls in his mouth as well as bottles. If he saw someone with a water bottle or a soda bottle...you better run because he would start to whimper and try to get it from you. We could not play catch with him because once he caught that ball...game over! LOL

We would dress him up in sweaters that were too small for my brother. Dino was so sweet. Whenever any of us came home, he would greet us and want one of us to pet him. When my sugars were low while I was sleeping, Dino would try to wake me up by licking my hand or jumping on my bed.

My sister had such an amazing bond with him. He was her "son". Whenever she left he would whimper and then would look out the window until she was back home. She always took him out on walks and gave him his baths (I tried to do that but for some reason whenever my sister was around he would growl at me if I got too close to him haha..did I mention he would ALWAYS defend her when we argued).

When my niece stayed with us, she would play with Dino all the time. She'd sit on the floor and put all her toys near him and tell him "Wake up Memo". It was so sweet to see the bond they were both already forming.

But Dino was not the same anymore. He would fall down a lot (his back legs would give out) and he spent most of his day sleeping. Dino was an active dog so for him to be sleeping most of the day was definitely not like him. We all began to worry so my sister took him to the vet. The vet said he was showing signs of old age in dogs and that he had hip dysplasia and arthritis. We were so sad for Dino. We gave him meds to help him but none seem to work over time. Soon we were all worried that maybe it was time to let him rest. Dino turned 14 and things just kept getting worse and worse for him. At this point he was barely walking. We had to hold his back legs just so he can eat. He kept pooping and peeing on himself (so not like him) so we put a diaper on him constantly changing him and giving him baths when he got too dirty.

My sister and my family made the very difficult decision to take Dino back to the vet and put him to sleep. We were all devastated. But in the end we knew we could no longer have Dino suffering. That night my sister gave Dino a warm bath and I took photos of him with her and all of us.

On Wednesday February 25th, Dino went to heaven. My sister and my mom were with him when he took his last breath. It hurts so much that he is no longer here. I sometimes think I hear him snoring at night or that he is just laying down beside my bed. It is especially hard coming home and not seeing him. Sometimes my niece will ask "Tia where is Memo?" I know she misses him too even if she doesn't fully understand what happened. I do feel comfort in knowing that he is no longer suffering. 

We miss him so much everyday!