This story begins on June 16, 2004, the day our son Reese was born, the day all of our lives changed. Prior to this event our family consisted of my wife, Terri and “her” two female Shi Tzu’s, Madison who was eleven years old and Monroe who was six years old. As noted these two dogs were my Terri’s as she had both of them prior to me meeting her and even though I was an animal lover there was something about those two dogs that drove me crazy. I eventually got used to them and yes even fell in love with them, as they were definitely part of the package of marriage. But when Reese came along the dogs changed. They were no longer the main attractions in the household, as most pet owners know happens when little ones arrive. With this new tiny arrival Madison and Monroe were intrigued when he finally arrived home, probably because he had tubes coming out of him and he was so small, even smaller than them. You see, Reese was born 9 weeks early and he stayed in the hospital for 6 weeks and when he finally came home they realized “this little thing with tubes” was the reason the dog’s lives had been different for the past few weeks.
They first sniffed but to my amazement the youngest Monroe knew she had competition so she did her best to ignore Reese and Madison was just unsure of what to think of him so she became very stand offish. Madison was the matriarch of the household, she was black and white in color, and therefore she was usually the referee of any scuffles in the house.
As all three aged together there was a bit more closeness that would take place but still Monroe would just ignore or turn her head away from Reese while Madison would let Reese get close but quickly run away. When she would run you could tell Reese was frustrated that this furry animal would not let him close.
One late summer evening Madison began to act differently towards Reese. She allowed him to get closer and she wouldn’t move away as fast. She still appeared to be in high spirits but just would not run. The next couple of days we didn’t really see a big change and then she began to fade very quickly and it was in a matter of 24 hours due to a heart condition.
What was the most amazing part of this entire relationship between Reese and Madison took place on the last morning. Madison had become very weak and unable to walk on her own and she even lost control of her bladder through that night. As she lay on the floor near the kitchen around the corner of the couch where Reese was sitting, Terri and I began to talk about what to do for her. She had been a part of Terri’s life for 12+ years, mine for seven+ years and for all of Reese’s life but we knew what had to be done. During that time Reese began to crawl from behind the couch closer to where Madison was lying down. As he came around the corner, you could see him smile as he saw her. He started to crawl faster as he thought he would be able to get closer to her. Then, Madison found all of her courage and energy left in her weak heart to stand up, walk a few steps, look Reese right in the face, wag her tail, give him his first kiss from her, as though to say goodbye and then she laid down again. Reese had a huge smile on his face, even laughed some and it is a memory of his little black and white dog, Madison that will live forever.
Later that morning we took Madison to Dr. Ray Goodroad, our Vet and she had to be put to sleep. Both Terri and I cried like babies. I still remember though that Reese got his first and last kiss and the wag of her tail as if to say goodbye.
We have since moved to Florida from Wisconsin and we go on family walks often. Whenever Reese sees a little dog that looks anything like Madison he says how Madison is now in “doggy heaven”. He also says how he does not want Monroe to go there anytime soon. Monroe has really become accustomed to Reese and loves him because every night before he goes to bed he goes to her gives a hug and kiss and tells her he loves her.
We all miss you MadisonJ
They first sniffed but to my amazement the youngest Monroe knew she had competition so she did her best to ignore Reese and Madison was just unsure of what to think of him so she became very stand offish. Madison was the matriarch of the household, she was black and white in color, and therefore she was usually the referee of any scuffles in the house.
As all three aged together there was a bit more closeness that would take place but still Monroe would just ignore or turn her head away from Reese while Madison would let Reese get close but quickly run away. When she would run you could tell Reese was frustrated that this furry animal would not let him close.
One late summer evening Madison began to act differently towards Reese. She allowed him to get closer and she wouldn’t move away as fast. She still appeared to be in high spirits but just would not run. The next couple of days we didn’t really see a big change and then she began to fade very quickly and it was in a matter of 24 hours due to a heart condition.
What was the most amazing part of this entire relationship between Reese and Madison took place on the last morning. Madison had become very weak and unable to walk on her own and she even lost control of her bladder through that night. As she lay on the floor near the kitchen around the corner of the couch where Reese was sitting, Terri and I began to talk about what to do for her. She had been a part of Terri’s life for 12+ years, mine for seven+ years and for all of Reese’s life but we knew what had to be done. During that time Reese began to crawl from behind the couch closer to where Madison was lying down. As he came around the corner, you could see him smile as he saw her. He started to crawl faster as he thought he would be able to get closer to her. Then, Madison found all of her courage and energy left in her weak heart to stand up, walk a few steps, look Reese right in the face, wag her tail, give him his first kiss from her, as though to say goodbye and then she laid down again. Reese had a huge smile on his face, even laughed some and it is a memory of his little black and white dog, Madison that will live forever.
Later that morning we took Madison to Dr. Ray Goodroad, our Vet and she had to be put to sleep. Both Terri and I cried like babies. I still remember though that Reese got his first and last kiss and the wag of her tail as if to say goodbye.
We have since moved to Florida from Wisconsin and we go on family walks often. Whenever Reese sees a little dog that looks anything like Madison he says how Madison is now in “doggy heaven”. He also says how he does not want Monroe to go there anytime soon. Monroe has really become accustomed to Reese and loves him because every night before he goes to bed he goes to her gives a hug and kiss and tells her he loves her.
We all miss you MadisonJ
Derek Baron
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