Gizmo

by Emily Lingg
(Gettysburg, PA)

My fiancee and I bought Gizmo when he was just a puppy, and I was 3 months pregnant with our twin sons. Gizmo was a shih tzu, a male, and the largest of the litter.

He was a great dog from the beginning. Picked up on the training very quickly. He loved to talk. All you had to do was look at him and say "what?" and he'd "talk" to you.

He was loved by everyone who met him, a very charismatic dog.

About 2 months ago, he started going downhill. I was terrified. He was eating normally, but he just kept losing weight. His eyes began to have a lot of discharge, and every morning they'd be crusted shut. Took him to the vet, ran some tests.

Gizmo had bone cancer. It had metastisized so fast that all we could do was make what time he had left comfy for him, or put him to sleep-which was out of the question unless he was clearly in a lot of pain.

The 3 days leading up to his passing were difficult. We knew it was going to be soon. His hair started falling out in large patches, he was skin & bones, couldn't walk. He just lay there. I had to carry him outside and back. He refused to eat or drink, and he slept with his eyes open.

There was one time when I was holding him and talking to him, I told him i loved him so much and I really hoped he knew that, that he could understand me. He looked up at me for a second and then he nuzzled his head into my chest.

On August 4, 2008, between 1:30am & 6 am, Gizzy went to doggy heaven. I woke up to find him. We buried him at my parents' house with my other dog that I had as a child.

It's proving very difficult for me, much more so than I thought it would. I keep picturing him around the house. Tunafish was his favorite, he'd always be right at my feet when i opened a can. I opened one last night and he wasn't there.

If he heard me tap my foot on the kitchen floor he knew I had dropped something for him. No one comes now. I know he's in a better place now and he's not sick anymore, but how do you get over someone who's been with you every day for 7 years?

Gizmo was not a dog to me, he was actually like my child, and I will never ever forget him.

Rest in peace Gizmo. You are loved and very much missed by all of us. See ya when I get there!