Joli is gone

Our sweet dog, Joli, departed her long and happy life this morning.

She was our constant companion these last 14 years. She was a pure-bred Border Collie, born in eastern Pennsylvania. Her mother was owned by the sister of a close friend. When we first saw her at six weeks old she was running with the pack of her brothers and sisters and was called “Tulip.” We knew she was the one: sweet, independent and full of life.

She came to live with us in the spring of 1997. She was happy to be with us where ever we lived, first in Oneida, then Syracuse, then St. Louis and finally back to Syracuse again. She loved to travel and was never a problem in any of the many motels, B&Bs and campgrounds she visited. She loved people, especially little kids. She was easy to teach and became a champ at dog agility. She had a good effect on the other dogs she met, kind, inquisitive but never pushy. After overcoming an early fear of water, she loved to swim. She was a perfect canoe dog, traveling many miles in our boats without complaint. At Rap-Shaw, our camp in the Adirondacks, she insisted of spending as much time at the beach as possible.

 I took her for two walks a day, one at 4 am and one at 4 pm, every day, without fail in all weather. That adds up to over 10,000 interesting walks in the last 14 years. She would never be seen without a stick in her mouth.

Yesterday at about 2 am Joli had some kind of an event. We think it was a stroke. After a while we were able to get her to settle down, but she was much reduced. Her hearing was effected and she was left with a neurological problem that made her constantly dizzy. After a thorough physical, the vet told us there was a chance she would recover. We decided to give her a chance. She had become dangerously dehydrated so they gave her a quart of solution under the skin. They told us to give her a motion sickness drug, and feed her bland food. We brought her home, and she slept comfortably most of the day. She happily ate her hamburger mixed with rice. We went for a little walk in the evening and lay in the grass with her for awhile. We had hopes she was recovering.

Early this morning, it happened again. This time she could not stand and had a hard time recognizing us. We knew it was time. We took her to the emergency vet to have her euthanized.

The loss we feel is profound.