goodbye to Neka

 NEKA

Elbereth Onnekas for Infindigo ShCM

25 March 2004 – 28 September 2015

Neka at 2 Years - Photo by Farlap

At 10 Years

I don’t know how to even begin to say goodbye to Neka.  Words are usually my thing, but for this there are none.  They are too dry, too small, utterly inadequate.  I always say that having to let them go is the price we pay for the years of joy our pets give us.  It is a heavy price, but they give us so much.  It is right and fitting that the sorrow of losing them should be profound, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

Neka was my first dog and my heart dog.  She was cheeky, full of fun, so clever and with a great sense of humour.  She went everywhere with me that she possibly could, and I will miss her so much that I don’t know how to face losing her.

As a youngster she was naughty, full of energy and mischief and specialised in escaping out the front door at every opportunity.  Early one morning we had to extract her from the kitchen of neighbours who inadvertently left their door open and had an unexpected visitor join them for breakfast.  On several occasions I caught up with her because she was busy bouncing in circles around the neighbourhood fearless, unperturbed cat.  She was nosey and more than a little stubborn, and she made us laugh every day.

Neka 9 weeks

Neka's First Winter

As a showdog she was always talented, enthusiastic and frequently comical in her performance.  She helped to put Finnish Lapphunds on the map in south west England, doing an enormous amount of winning in Any Variety Not Separately Classified classes when there were few or no breed classes at open shows.  In fact, on 2 April 2006 she became the first Finnish Lapphund in the UK to win the Show Certificate of Merit.  Everyone always knew when Neka was strutting her stuff in the ring because she shouted all about it at every opportunity.  She qualified for Crufts every one of her 11 years and attended most of those she qualified for, her top Crufts win being the best Veteran Bitch in 2013.   

She gave us 16 beautiful puppies in two litters, one of which was a litter of 9 – the largest litter of Lapphund puppies born in the UK to date.  She was a gentle, patient and attentive mother and went on to be a doting granny and great-granny to every litter of puppies we had since.  She was always ready to step in and help out with cleaning up or with keeping the youngsters happy and entertained.  Our puppies have all been immeasurably lucky to have had her in their lives, and they give their families so much pleasure due in large part to her influence. 

  

Playing with the Puppies - age 11

In middle age, Neka suffered a lengthy bout of pancreatitis.  She almost didn’t survive it, and it took a full 18 months for her to recover.  Nevertheless, she eventually bounced back and went on to take up running with me, a sport she enjoyed until after her 10^th birthday when arthritis in one paw started to slow her down.  Her brush with illness did age her, however, and by the time of her 11^th birthday, she was older than her years.  In recent months she was declining noticeably, slowing down and becoming rather blind and quite deaf.

While I was in Canada visiting my family, a mild stomach bug triggered another attack of pancreatitis.  Neka fought it the whole time I was away, but the day I returned she worsened considerably.  With suspected tumours, in pain and too weak to stand, she had no fight left.  Our wonderful vets treated her symptoms aggressively with intravenous fluid, heavy pain medication and antibiotics, but she didn't respond and they were unable to get her very high temperature under control.  

I was so grateful that I got back in time to say goodbye and be with her at the end.  I was just sorry I didn't get the opportunity to take her to the beach one last time - her favorite place.  On the 6^th anniversary of the death of Anniebear, Neka was given sleep.  I hope Annie was there with her too.

We picked up 8-week-old Neka the day after we moved into this house, so we have never known a time here without her.  It is too quiet now.  Empty.  The other dogs are subdued and don’t even bark when we arrive home without the watchdog of their pack here to raise the alarm.  And they don't even know when mealtimes are anymore because that was her job too.
 

But Neka will live on in her wonderful puppies, her grand-puppies and through all the generations to follow.  And she will be forever young and full of life in my heart. Run free, my Moo, until I catch up with you.  I hope there are beaches and snow where you are.

Age 6 Years

Age 10 Years Still Loving the Beach

Goodbye to Anniebear

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? 1998 – 28 Sep 2009

A day I never wanted to face has arrived and we have had to say goodbye to our beloved Akita, Annie. So gentle, and so beautiful, she won admirers everywhere she went.

Annie came to us early in 2005 when Neka was less than a year old. We weren't looking for another dog, but a chance long wait in the vet's office brought her to us when she arrived for treatment with an RSPCA handler. We looked at her and she looked at us and we went straight to the RSPCA centre to 'reserve' her, even though they hadn't yet assessed the severity of her hip dysplasia or even whether she would be suitable for re-homing.

Over the next 2 weeks we visited her everyday and took her for walks, getting to know her and trying to determine whether a 33 kilo, middle-aged abandoned Akita could fit in with us, with Neka and with our 2 cats. We need not have worried.

After the first few visits, she would be waiting for me and would drag her handler through the door to greet me. After our walks, she would quietly sit at my feet. One day she headed straight for our van and tried to hop in. It was just right, and so in February she came home with us and immediately claimed her den under the stairs.

We did get off to a slightly shaky start. During the first night she decided she didn't want to stay in the kitchen so with one yank she uninstalled the cat flap from the door. From time to time she also displayed an alarming talent for simply breaking out of metal crates. She never wanted to actually go anywhere, so long as she was with us she was happy.

I had done a lot of reading about Akitas and had sought advice from a few experienced owners and breeders, so we were careful with her at first, learning to read her body language and cautiously approaching introducing her to the cats and to other dogs. Pretty soon she was walking off lead all the time and was beautifully behaved and always eager to please – at least when she wasn't having one of her stubborn moments. At a dog show campground, someone once called “Look out, there's an Akita loose!” Many people leapt to attention to help until someone laughed and said “Oh, it's only Annie.”

At first, as she rolled around on the floor having her tummy scratched, I was afraid when she would open her enormous mouth wide and roll her eyes at me. Sensing my nervousness, she would open that mouth even wider until it was almost big enough to fit a human head. It took me a while to realise that this ferocious looking expression was her soft face and the more nervous I felt, the 'softer' she would make it to put me at ease.

She was great with all people and animals, and so patient with the puppies. However, she did demand her due respect from other dogs. If any dog ever took advantage, she would go up on her toes, head and tail held high as if to say, 'You do know I'm an Akita, right?' and that was all it took. Once, when I was having a crisis with a screaming puppy caught in barbed wire in a field, Annie immediately assessed the situation and stood guard at the gate of the field, letting no person or dog enter until the crisis had passed.

Letting them go when the time comes is the last important act of love you perform for them. You owe it to them to make sure there is no needless suffering, but still I didn't think I could go through with it. In the end, she told us that she had had enough and it was time to go – she stopped eating and didn't even try to get to her feet anymore.

I will miss her during thunder storms when she would seek me out, not because she was disturbed for herself, but to protect me. I will miss her when I'm sitting in the garden during summer evenings when she would stretch out next to my chair on the cool stones. I will miss her on woodland walks where she would suddenly revert to puppyhood to chase the squirrells. And I will miss her everyday lying on her back, feet in the air, snoring next to my desk at work.

I'm so grateful to the wonderful staff at St David's Vet Hospital in Exeter who care for all our animals, and cared for Anniebear right to the end. I was so touched that the nurse who treated Annie the very first time she came in from the RSPCA came again today to assist the vet and say goodbye as well.

Run free, my bear, without pain, and we'll look forward to seeing you again on the other side.