"My Heart Will Go On"
Madison passed away on February 29, 2004.
I am totally numb right now,
having lost Murphy less than 2 months ago.
I have lost my best friend and don't know what to do.
Madison was my constant shadow and soulmate.
Now 5 years later in 2009 the loss
is still just as fresh to me.
I am not sure it will ever
be possible for me to redo this page.
He was one of a kind.
He loved to play ball and
I kept his one chewed up ball.
I just couldn't throw it out.
He pretended to be aggressive but
he really was just scared.
So many things scared him,
including cracking frozen vegetables
on the kitchen counter and storms.
He was a sweet baby who will
never be replaced - my soulmate.
I left a memorial for Madison at
Our friends Max and Anne have a special remembrance page
and Madison and Murphy have a special place.
Thanks so much dear friends.
To the day I die I will wonder what
would have happened had I not walked him
so many times that last day.
He was always excited to walk but he had
to go down and back up a flight
of stairs each time and the last time
is when he collasped. I will ALWAYS feel
like I cheated him of more time with us.
 | This is Madison as he is now at 12 years old. |
Below are pictures of Madison as he came to me
when I took
him in as a foster pup which
I meant to return to the shelter many years ago.
He was a sick little thing and I took him
home to give him some extra attention.
 |
 |
I never meant to keep him. He cried so much the whole week he was there that
Madison loves to play ball.
Unfortunately Madison is a little dog aggressive He was brought
to the shelter with his 5 littermates So you can imagine my reluctance to have visitors come in,
Madison also had some medical problems with his back legs. After he had the first surgery Now at 10 years old he has
The really interesting thing about Madison is that
Madison was recently honored to win the
Also, please take a moment to sign my guestbook. Thanks.
I even took him
back and left him for an
entire week to see if he could get a home
but he
was too backward with strangers and he had
decided that he was going to stay
with Murphy, Joey, and I.
he nearly drove the shelter staff and volunteers nuts.
So when I went back to the shelter the following
weekend and he was
still there, I took him home.
I kept telling myself I didn't
want another dog.
The shelter staff and other volunteers
would just
laugh at me and say, "you lose".
To show my independence, I never signed
adoption papers on him until he was 4 years old.
But of course, he
was mine
from the first day I brought him
home.
He hates it when
I am on the computer.
He also loves to go for walks.
And when
he gets bored, he takes a toy up on the couch
and goes to
sleep like he is doing in the picture below.
(I love this picture). Click on it to see a larger copy.
with other dogs. He protects Murphy and I from
everyone when we are
out for a walk.
But he is the sweetest thing with anyone he knows.
He just doesn't like strangers.
Everyone wants to pet him when
we walk
and I have to tell them that they can't.
I have actually told
people he was abused
and they seem to understand that better.
at about 3 weeks old when their mom
was killed
by a car. They were so weak from being
bitten by fleas that
they couldn't stand up.
They had to give them all blood transfusions
but he was the only one that lived.
I was
a little too protective of him and
he really thinks I am his mom, I think.
I think this is why he is so protective of us
and why he is as he is.
I love him anyways and am just glad we were
able to find each other
... but I sometimes wonder
if he would have liked a little boy
to play
with instead.
but since the death of my parents I have hired a pet sitter
to come in at lunch and walk them and
they both are getting along just fine with her.
I was so relieved to know that someone could
come in the house if something happened to me.
Something we don't like to think about
but something very necessary to plan out
before the unexpected happens.
I was worried about getting him home.
Just to get into my place requires
walking up a flight of stairs.
Then the bedroom is up another flight.
When it was time to go to bed I decided to sleep
on the floor in the livingroom with him that night.
But the other animals were confused -
Murphy went to bed upstairs
and I could hear noises like she was jumping
up and down on the bed.
Rufus was running everywhere like a crazy man and
hanging over the ledge looking down at us and crying.
I barricaded him out of the livingroom
but his crying was terrible and I finally
gave up and decided to go to bed upstairs.
Madison insisted he would too so I had to
walk him up the flight of stairs
one step at a time holding his butt up
while he struggled to get up them.
We ended up doing this nightly for about
eight months between the two surgeries.
developed calcified disks in his neck and we
are treating him with steroids, which I hate.
I'm working towards the lowest dose he can handle.
I admit he is better. It was so hard to see him
limping on his right front leg and
yelping when he tried to play.
even though he is dog aggressive I have been able
to bring puppies into the
house and it hasn't
been a problem. He welcomes them in
and the fun
begins. But my biggest surprise came
the day I brought the little kitten
home to foster
and Madison took him as his
BABY.
SASSY Survivor of the Month Award.
We display this award proudly.
Thanks to Brandi and the girls at
Kitten Kingdom for this special honor.
