Faychie came back home this afternoon. On the way, he rode next to me in the passenger seat, as he always did. And while I’m still heart broken, there is now a sense of contentment.
I chose blue for his paw print, the colour of his first collar.
I remember the day we first me. After discovering a littler of puppies local to me on a Thursday morning, I procrastinated over the course of the day, then phoned up that night. There was one puppy left by then and I made the commitment. On Friday I could barely contain my excitement, the next day I went and met my little buddy for the first time.
When we arrived, mumma dog met us by jumping up on the back of the couch, then followed us and jumped up on the kitchen table, she wanted pats and affection. My little buddy wanted to do the same thing. I mention this because Faych went on to also have this strong need to be close to his humans, just like mumma. There was no need to make a decision, that had been made two days prior, and cemented the second we met. He made the ride home resting in my arms. And from those first few moments together, I fell completely in love.
The big challenge centred around a name. For a week, every name that was suggested just didn’t sound or feel right. Then, out of the blue, an obvious name surfaced. When I was born, mum and dad had a cocker spaniel called Hafey. As I grew and began to talk, toddler DFB couldn’t say Hafey, instead I called him Fayche. Looking back on photos from that period in the late 1980’s, I can clearly see where my love of dogs comes from, cocker spaniels in particular. I’m so thankful for what my mother did here, giving me the gift of empathy and total, unconditional love for dogs. And that’s where my little buddy got his weird name.
Early on, there were a few odd moments that we didn't fully understand. On one occasion when he was still a puppy, we noticed him crouched down with both paws across his eyes with a look of terror. Naturally that led to a visit to the vet, but nothing was found. A few years later, I discovered him sitting of the couch with this strange slime across his nose and jaw, at the time I had assumed he had gotten into something, wiped him off and thought nothing more of it. Then one day when he was about 3, I got a phone call saying he had just had a seizure and was taken to the vet.
From that moment onward, trips to the Vet were a frequent occurrence. Early on, the meds did absolutely nothing. It got to the point where I could see when the seizures were about to happen, he’d get up and begin to wander aimlessly, then a flash of terror would flash through his eyes in the seconds before he’d go down. And there was nothing you can do other than make sure he doesn't hurt himself, clean him up and let him recover. He would perk back up in a few minutes, but they were getting longer and longer each time. This was extremely hard to watch over and over again.
Eventually, the Vet added an extra medication to the mix................................and he stopped having seizures. The only one he had since that change was in 2020 when Covid supply lines were limited and we had to ration the meds to get through. Not one since though. The meds did have some drawbacks, chiefly liver troubles that would surface on and off. But……………I did everything in my power to give him the best life possible, not everyone would have been able to do that. I honestly believe he was sent to us, that we would give him every opportunity.
In his early years, Faych was not a confident walker. We’d get to the end of the street or block, he’d put on the brakes and insist on going home. No doubt this was separation anxiety, and it would drive me crazy. But slowly but surely, he became more and more confident…………..and more and more excited to go for walkies! As soon as he spotted the harness and lead, the excited grizzling and rapidly wagging tail began. It was the cutest thing in the world and made me so happy to see him so happy. And those little snorts and whimpers he’d do melted my heart every time, so cute.
Over the last year, our midday walks became a new routine, something that helped me massively as I came to terms with what had happened to me at work. In his own way, he knew what was going on, he knew I needed his company. It’s around this time he began to enjoy swimming, to the point where he’d pull on the lead as we headed towards the river or lake. Afterwards, we'd find a nice green patch of grass for him to have a roll. Again, it was so sweet to watch him discover this new pleasure so late in his life. I have videos of this that will live on forever.
While animals can’t read, they somehow know the time of day. Faych would pace up and down the hallway an hour before I came home from work. As soon as he heard the garage door open, he’d be waiting for me at the door, which meant it was time for pats, a little doggie treat followed by a barking session in the backyard. An hour later, he knew it was time for dinner, he’d canter around in excitement. After food, it was time to play with his toys, usually a destruction session.
Speaking of food, Cocker’s inhale it! And it doesn’t matter what it was, if it smelt good, he wanted it! For example, the night I discovered he had plucked a bag of flour off the pantry self, dragged it into the living room and proceeded to cover himself and the living room rug is flour. My little black doggie had turned himself white………….and wasn’t he pleased with himself. If I wasn’t annoyed, I would have taken a photo of it because in hindsight, it was actually quite amusing. Or the time he snuck up and nicked a bag of bread rolls off the bench, then ran out into the garden to get his fill……………..that didn’t go down very well, but I thought it was hilarious!
Where possible, I’d take him to work with me in the garden. He’d roam around while I weeded, trimmed, and watered. Often this would be two golden retrievers, which I thought would be good for him to socialize………………..but just like me, he would have none of it and preferred to his own company. I was once told dogs take on their humans character traits, well I suppose that would explain the anxiety and social awkwardness.
Continued next post due to photo limit...........................
she learned real quick that the kitchen= good stuff!
