Tribute to Bija

1997 - 2010

As most of you know our dog, Bija, passed away while we were on holidays in September. We loved her so much that I'm going to try a little tribute to her although nothing will be adequate enough. We adopted Bija from Animal Rescue Foundation as a birthday gift for our daughter but of course, in a family of animal lovers, she really belonged to all of us. We enjoyed almost 14 years of laughter from her antics and many, many walks, at least two or more a day. Everyone along the two and a half km. route we would take became fond of seeing us and we made many acquaintances because of her that we never would have made otherwise. This alone was a huge enrichment of our lives that she was directly responsible for. When she was no longer with us and it was just my husband and me walking, we got calls, cards and people coming out of their homes  to inquire as to her whereabouts and give us hugs and tell us how much they would miss all of us walking by every day.

This is one of the last pictures I took of her and you can see in it how much she has aged but is still beautiful and in good condition. When we first got her she would hide from the camera and the only way I could really get a good picture was with a telephoto lens. It took almost ten years but eventually she figured out that I wasn't going to quit trying so she might as well just pose or at least not run away. Her submission made me a bit sad though as to me it meant that she was getting old and couldn't be bothered running away.

This little video demonstrates how obedient and trusting she was with us. Like most geriatrics she ended up on medication  and from previous experience with medicating pets we dreaded the process of pushing pills down her throat every day. However; in true form for being the easiest dog to live with, she got to the point where she would remind me if I forgot to give it to her. First thing in the morning before she went outside for her "business" she would sit in front of the cabinet where her pills were and practically open her mouth to get them. Occasionally I wouldn't succeed on the first try but she would patiently give me two tries. If I failed both of them I  would get a dirty look over her shoulder at me as she walked away in disgust. As long as I apologized profoundly she would forgive me and muster up for the next try. What a sweetie.

This one is of her getting her exercise. When she was a puppy full of energy, even a couple of walks a day wasn't enough to burn off all that enthusiasm.  She would be wandering around the back yard when all of a sudden her bum would drop, the front legs would spread out in a huge V, and with her head tipped back and a huge grin on her face she would be off doing the circuit. At first we didn't have a fence at the back for some reason that escapes me now, so she would swing way out into the lane while making her turn. Thankfully she was never hit or encountered another dog. The more we laughed  the faster she would run, probably hoping we would join in and chase her. In the video I had to encourage her to get moving, probably the camera made her hesitant, but as usual she would do anything asked of her if it meant pleasing us. It's a bit sad because it drove home that she was getting old, just a few "laps" and she was tired out. Ignore my horrid voice please.

The yard in the video above was before we landscaped it.  This is what it looks like now.

 Here she is in her chair by the window. She spent a lot of time there, watching for other dogs going by, always good for a barking session. If it was a super good day a kitty might  come close to the window and she would be up and stomping and growling to let it know that trespassers would be severely shaken. Those were the best times ever for her. Sadly the last few months were spent mostly sleeping. The chair is gone now but we still look at the replacement and picture her there. We look for her silhouette in the window when we come home from an outing and miss her greeting us as we come in the door. As she got older and deafer she would become confused sometimes and be standing facing the opposite way when we came in, her ears would be up and you could tell she was listening for us but puzzled. I would smile and reach out to gently tap her on her behind and she would jump and whirl about with a startled but happy face when she saw us. Entertaining to the end. I won't go into the details of her passing here as this isn't about that. I just wanted to say how much we loved her, appreciated her presence in our lives and will always treasure our memories of her.

                                                                     Best Dog Ever