On October 4, 2018 we said good-bye to our dear sweet Daisy. She lived to the fine age of 15 ½. She was born in Edmonton, danced into our hearts in Saskatoon, and died in Penticton. She added so much joy to our lives that it is hard to imagine life without her. Even though our last year was challenging as we provided hospice care for her, we will cherish those moments.

Enjoying a campfire a few days ago

Let’s remember her with some epithets and many pictures (click on pics to enlarge):

Amuser of Canines

True to her breed, she liked to entertain other dogs, especially her big brother, Goliath. When she came to live with us, he looked up at us as if to say, “She’s mine? She’s really mine?” She brightened his life and her “uncle” Sundance’s life too by being a wrestling partner. She was sturdy, and though they tried to tip her over, she stood her ground.

Daisy and Sundance (RIP2014)

Daisy and Sundance (RIP2014)

Daisy and Poppy

Daisy and Goliath (RIP2012)

Princess of the Skies

From the tender age of 8 months, she flew regularly with me to visit my family in Ontario. She never fussed. She just cuddled into her travel bag and took it all in stride. On our very first connection through Winnipeg, the security agent lifted Daisy from her bag and held her in the air (in Lion King fashion) and pronounced: “It’s a Shih Tzu!” Daisy just gazed at her subjects.

Devourer of Groceries

We always enjoyed taking the dogs when running errands. However, there was always a risk associated with it if groceries were on the agenda. Many a baguette was pulled off the dashboard and munched on. The most daring move she ever made was when we had a roast in the bag of groceries. While we were in another store, Daisy went through the groceries and dragged the roast to her spot in the Jeep. She tore open the wrapping and proceeded to gnaw away at it. When we returned to the vehicle, Goliath was shaking in the corner and Daisy’s face was covered in beef juices. We could just imagine Goliath warning her, “Oh Daisy! That doesn’t belong to you. God doesn’t like it when you steal.” (imagine the Claymation Goliath voice in your head)

Master of the Stink Eye

She may have been small, but she had a powerful gaze. She could stare down a dog many times her size. My sister’s pitbull, Penny, gave Daisy a wide berth when she passed by. Daisy just knew how to claim her space, and her humans. When Paul cuddled another dog, she really gave the stink eye. Sometimes her whole body would vibrate.

Fashionista of Saskatoon

No dog could rock a coat like Daisy! She loved to be warm, so she had quite a collection of coats (and broaches). Her favorite was her Czarina coat. It was reversible burgundy fun-fur and velvet. It kept her even warmer than her down parka. Keeping warm is a serious business in Saskatoon in winter. As a pup, she would race outside to do her business and then race right back in. However, by the time she was 10, she would race outside, but then become so cold that she couldn’t make it back inside. We would often have to run out to lift her from the snow.

The Great Road Tripper

Daisy was a great traveller. She travelled by vehicle across Canada and the USA, and this past winter, she even went to Mexico. She loved car rides, short and long. She camped in our boler, Surf-Side, Airstream 23, Chinook, and Airstream 30. She was just as content hanging over Paul’s shoulder or riding in her Pet Cruiser bike basket. But one of her happiest places was in her bag.

Daisy and Goliath

The One Who Never Barks

Daisy was never a barker. Remember, she was the Master of the Stink Eye, so barking was unnecessary for her. One day, we were visiting friends at their cottage at Emma Lake. We all went in for dinner, and we put Daisy and Goliath in the screened porch. They’d be ok. Well, Daisy was beside herself. What in the world were we doing inside with all that food when she was outside, like a common dog?! She summoned up her gravelly bark and worked herself into a lather. She was nearly frothing at the mouth. We had never seen nor heard this side of Daisy before. Poor Goliath just looked on, “Oh, Daisy!”

Begging at Gammy’s door

The Tiny Table Dancer

In her younger years, she was quite an agile girl. She could balance on the back of the Jeep seats, the sofa, Paul’s shoulder, or any high place, almost like a cat. When she was still a puppy, I visited a friend to show her Daisy. While we were visiting, Daisy went missing. We found her dancing on the kitchen table, sniffing out snacks. A few years later, when she was spayed, she was dancing all over the Jeep on the way home. Once we got home, she was doing gymnastics and ballet all over the house. I want to remember those years and not the months when we had to carry her and support her to do her basic functions.

Go Daisy Go!

The Puppy-sitter

Daisy loved puppies!

Daisy and Magnum

Daisy with some puppies in Birch Hills

We will miss her forever.  Wherever we went, she was with us.  Whenever Paul was apart from us due to travel, the first thing he’d ask was, “How’s Daisy?”  That was always our joke.  When she no longer gave Daddy Nose Kisses, we knew our time with her was coming to an end.

Good-bye our sweet little dumpling . . .

. . . You will remain forever in our hearts.