Arrow, Tsonya v. Delepine

Bow Has Lost Her Arrow

Arrow, Tsonya v. Delepine, has left us. She was 15 1/2 years old and I thought she would go on forever. This was so hard to believe because the day I left for Entlefest in UT, she had played with her ball, ate her meals, and visited her favorite feed store where the clerks love her and had given her treats. All seemed normal, but... she was in very bad shape when I returned for her 10 days later.

She greeted me at the kennel with her little tail wag and wanted to be petted as usual, but she could only make it 1/2 way to the car before I carried her. The kennel owner said Arrow had gone downhill very fast during my absence. She contacted the animal hospital and gave her Tramadol, which made her comfortable.

I took her right away to the animal hospital where, after some tests, it was determined that it was most likely cancer. I chose to have her put down right then. It was the hardest and also the most right thing for me to do. She died peacefully within 15 seconds, while I petted her head and told her what a good, great girl she was.

Johanna came home from Davis the next day. I had my neighbor dig a hole, while Johanna collected flowers and colored leaves from the garden. She lined the grave with Mexican marigold bows that Arrow used to run through in her younger years that smelled so fresh and wild. We carefully laid her on top and then put more bows over her. I invited neighbors and friends who had known Arrow since she was a puppy. We stood around Arrow, adding to her flowerbed mementos that she loved, like her favorite red plastic ball, a rubber Santa squeaky toy, a tennis ball, a biscuit. We took turns telling fond stories about Arrow and then we took turns shoveling dirt over her. A glass of wine to toast her remarkable life followed and then it was over.

There is a very big hole in my life now, but what a great life she had. It was a large part of my life too. Im so happy that we found each other. Bow and I miss Arrow every day.