Muzzy Harrison June 1st, 1996 – December 20th, 2008

Muzzy was twelve-and-a-half when she passed away in the late afternoon on Saturday, 20th December 2008. She had been having respiratory problems for about a week, due to a haze on her lungs. Though uncomfortable from heavy breathing, she was not in a lot of pain.

After a course of antibiotics during the week failed to make her condition any better, a course of cortisone pills seemed to give her back her spark. She was feeling better, wagging her tail and eating her dinner. She was fine throughout the day, even happy to go outside for a bit of fresh air.

At around 4pm she stopped responding to our calls, and was too weak to stand up. She went into cardiac arrest at the emergency vet, and died at around 5pm.

Muzzy was a wonderful, good-natured Spoodle — a cross between a cocker spaniel and poodle — that was a beloved member of our family for 12 years. Always excited to go for a walk (a simple mention of the letter “W” had her jumping up and down) she enjoyed making friends with other dogs in our area, and was always friendly to everyone.

She came to us as the “replacement” dog after our first dog, a spoodle puppy (named Gubby) passed away after just 4 days with us from a rare disease. My sister and I grew up with her — I was 12 and my sister was 9 when we got Muzz. It’s hard to remember a time when she wasn’t part of our family, though I will always remember the day Mum and Dad brought her home.

Except for an illness from large stones in her stomach in 2005 (photos on request) she was in good health her entire life until earlier this week. Though undoubtedly uncomfortable from being unable to breathe properly, she was still in good spirits, and on what we though might be the road to recovery. It was only in the final minutes of her life that she was too uncomfortable to be happy, but now she is at peace.

We buried Muzzy in our backyard, in a grave dug between two ferns that is well placed for burial, but poorly placed for digging. She was buried with her Carlton teddy and her blanket. She’ll be terribly missed.

Goodnight Puppy. I love you. And I’ll miss you.