In the Spring of 2001,
I was born the most beautiful puppy in a litter of eight.
Here I am at 4 months
old at just about the time everyone was beginning to
realize just how special
I was really going to be!
My first point! I was
born with a crazy wild stallion mentality, making it impossible for
anyone to make me stack.
The harder they tried, the worse I would fight them on it. I
thought it was really
really funny! Isn't that what being an Afghan means? When in reality,
my stallion instincts
kept me from becoming a champion for many years. I had a huge,
strong personality that
did not want to be told what to do. Besides, I loved every minute
of life and this ring
thing, always made me giggle. So why do what I was told?
I would soon grow into
the most beautiful Afghan Hound anyone had ever seen and
became quite the male
model, which can be seen in many of my pictures. Very young,
I developed a deep lifelong
love of the ocean, especially Big Sur, Ca. I loved to pose for
pictures standing on
rocks, thousands of feet above the wild ocean... in awe of its strength
and magnitude. I was
known as the "Big Sur" dog and everyone knew my name. I was one
of those lucky Afghans
who could be trusted off lead so there was no need to be restricted
by a leash. I could be
trusted to run free on the beach. My mom, Alaska, was the same way!
Then, I became a father.
I saw a side of myself I never expected. I not only loved my
kids but I helped raise
them. I would help clean them (mmm tasty) and be on alert 24 hours
if I thought they were
hungry or needed anything. I was uncharacteristically protective of my
puppies and often climbed
into their whelping box with them. I saw myself in their eyes.
My exotic look, my pride
in being an Afghan Hound and all that encompasses, was
permanently stamped on
my progeny.
I am about 4 years old
here. My breeder/owner/best friend was Ms. ZoSo. Our hearts
were as close as any
could be. We could always read each others mind. In fact, I had never
spent a night away from
her. This is why I refused to listen to anyone else...refused to let
anyone tell me how to
stack. There is an amusing video of me preventing the handler
from messing with my
feet....giggle...giggle! I was sometimes known as "Tinkle Dog"
since I loved to lift
my leg on anyone who tried to make me stack! Unfortunately,
somedays I would sometimes
tinkle on anyone in my path. I actually had a big sense
of humor and really enjoyed
the reaction I would get when I would be "Tinkle Dog".
Big men in suits would
scream and jump out of my way! Gosh, I loved being me! I was
always the leader and
needed to be the alpha in my home. So it stands to reason that
I should be alpha away
from home too, right? About this time, my breeder/best friend
decided to retire me,
unfinished, to just enjoy my company. This meant I got to go
camping at the beach
a lot more. Yay! Although I adored being in the ring and seeing
everyone's face as I
floated by, I just didn't feel like being told what to do. Remember,
I was the boss and I
made my own rules. And, because breeder/best friend worshiped
the ground I walked on,
I could get away with anything <evil grin> Once, at a UKC
show, a judge gave the
win to my brother - so I snuck up behing the judge, as
he bent down, and I tinkled
all over his rear.
I have always been
the most exquisite Afghan on the face of the planet,
scary smart, intelligent,
and of course, extremely humble.
Here I am at 8 ½
years old in all my glory. Mature, set into all my angles, bodied up,
and magnificent. So,
my breeder/best friend has this serious talk with me. Is she kidding?
Did she say SERIOUS?
I've never heard that word before or even known its true meaning.
But, always trusting
breeder/owner/best friend, she tells me that I really need to buckle
down and get my act together
because my gorgeous domino self is going back in the ring.
She told me that I was
coming out of retirement because I am in my prime and that I'm
perfect. She explains
to me I can still be an untamed wild stallion, but I just have to keep
my feet planted in the
correct place and stop tinkling on my handlers. She also explains
that my worthiness needs
to be validated by achieving the AKC title. Adoring her as I did,
I decided to please her
and do what was being asked. After all, I simply loved being in
the ring and having everyone
watch me. Gosh, if this title thing was so important, why
didn't we have this talk
years ago? The great Andy Linton was called in to be my new
handler. Upon seeing
me, Andy thought I was breathtaking and was very intrigued by
my wild stallion personality.
We really hit it off! Together we won every single show I
was entered and I topped
it off with straight Best of Breeds and 4 point majors in one
long weekend! Finally,
I am now officially validated and am an AKC Champion
of record in just a few
weeks of shows. One more thing I was able to
honor my progeny with.
Here is my "New Champion"
win photo. Sadly, it would be my
very last win picture
ever taken.
breeder/best friend decides
to take me on a vacation to celebrate. We went to Big
Sur for a week and then
stayed ocean front in Oregon for two weeks. We hired a
professional photographer
to get 800 gorgeous pictures of me at the ocean. My
breeder/best friend would
end up being very grateful for these pictures as she did
not yet know I would
have to leave her...very soon afterward. Anyway, she decided
it was time for my big
specials career. Breeder thought the fancy needed to know such
elegance, correctness,
flash and beauty. Everyone thought I was only around 2 years old
because I was so perfect,
muscled out, crazy happy, and all full of myself. So, we start
my specials career. Andy
would proudly escort me into the ring. My first time as a special,
I had some pain in my
right leg but I loved showing off in the ring so much, I hid the pain
so nobody knew I was
hurting. Then, all of a sudden, the pain got bad very quickly and I
could not gait all the
way around the ring. I went down, right in the very ring of my first time
as a special, lame! I
was in pain! Breeder/best friend was hysterical which upset me even
more. I was rushed to
the emergency hospital limping and I didn't know why. Weeks later,
and many, many test later,
everyone would discover I had caught a very rare fungus called
Blastomycis. It attacked
ever inch of my strong body. It hit me very aggressively and quickly.
I started to feel pain!
My head hurt. All the vets said I was now having migraines and kept me
medicated most of the
time as they tried to buy time and tried to figure out what was wrong
with me. Since I was
always so very close to my breeder/best friend, after a few days of all
those tests, I looked
as her and with my eyes I said, "FIX THIS!" I didn't understand not
feeling well. I was a
very sensitive man-dog, highly intelligent, and I didn't miss much. But,
for the first time in
my life, I really didn't understand what was going on. And, worse, I
felt sick. I just wanted
to snuggle into a warm bed and sleep. Very quickly, my whole body
became septic. Being
Dreamer, I fought it as hard as I could. Breeder/best friend would spend
all night holding me
as if it was going to be the last time. Finally she would get up and snap
this very last picture
of me...snuggled in her favorite blankee which she still sleeps with.
Even though the vet had
me heavily medicated, when I woke up the next day I waited
for my best friend to
carry me out to the car in her arms. The next thing I remember was
being in the hospital...my
best friend not being able to join me for my last breath of life.
I simply did not want
her there. I gave her that look to let her know I wanted her to stay
outside. I knew it was
going to be the hardest thing in the world for her to deal with and I
didn't want her to there.
My best friend made sure everyone else who loved me was there
holding me tightly, including
my Godmother Marina. Then slowly it got real dark and I fell
asleep in arms that loved
me. That's all I remember and I had no more pain.....
I am with God now
because he loves his creatures great and small and he
does not want them to
suffer. Many of my relatives are here in Doggie Heaven with me.
I wait for my best
friend to come back and love me. I know I was the love of her life
and the most important
thing in her world....now and forever...
Dear Best Friend, Please,
know that I no longer have pain, I run free night and day.
I will send you a look
alike son. AND...
....THE DREAM WILL
CONTINUE.....
My best friend: ZOSO
zoso123@msn.com
www.angelfire.com/stars4/zoso
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