Aggie—farewell dear friend, RIP

Agadore Spartacus

My dear Aggie—Agador Spartacus—is gone and I’m broken hearted. At the impressive age of at least 15, he had to be put down this morning. This was one of my biggest fears when we left Australia in May—that I might never see the old goat again. But I did see him this morning, on Skype, and it was confirmation that it was his time. When he left to go chase rabbits over the Rainbow Bridge, he was surrounded by love and farewelled with tears.

Aggie—who graces the banner of this blog—was a taller than normal standard schnauzer, and had more attitude than any dog I’ve ever known. We rescued him in 2002, when he was about six years old. He made his mark on the family immediately. Just this morning, Petra and I recalled that in the first week we had him, he casually jumped over the 6-foot fence in the backyard—from a sitting position. But we already knew this fellow was going to be a personality and hard to contain. I could write pages and pages about him, but I’ll share just a few snippets, and you can read about his not-German heritage.

This is the dog who:

• could wind down his car window and unbuckle his seat belt

• broke into Poor John’s desk and ate a 300-gram block of Lindt dark chocolate—vet bill $166.70

• ate almost everything and especially loved raw carrots, and once ate a box of Sunlight soap

• stole food from high places—especially sausages

• barked at seaweed the first time he saw it coming at him on the beach, and then decided to rescue it the next day

• loved a bum rub

• hated to be brushed

• attacked a poster of a cat

• chased $30,000 worth of race horse for fun

• bit a lot of people, but never drew blood

and so much more.

Chiyo and Aggie waiting for something to bark at.

Even in a short time, Graeme, who has looked after Aggie and Chiyo in our absence, has come to appreciate Aggie’s quirkiness. When I wrote to say that I agreed that the time had come, Graeme, who has a wonderful way with words, wrote that he thought Aggie was truly unique and said

‘I feel honoured to have had my time with him and to bond our way. Such a character and very individual and, until now, independent. The happiness and fun he has given me is priceless. It’s easy to be selfish when we face saying goodbye but you are right. We are ensuring his dignity is maintained and suffering is ended.’

In amongst all the farewell cuddles from Graeme and our daughters, Libby and Petra, Graeme managed to get this parting message from Aggie,

‘Tell mum—i am in good hands. Thank you for all your love and good times. Nine years with you was a bonus compared to the dog’s life i had before. Really good times and memories. just wish you hadn’t caught me out being naughty so often. I have had so much fun being the boss. And didn’t I show them in my early days. Graeme got to know me when i had mellowed, but we remember the good old days. Which is what we have to hold onto—priceless, funny, quirky, unique memories. I’m off for a long sleep soon and i am so looking forward to it. Damn body just won’t function as i want it to. So it’s no fun anymore. And Mum, you and I sure had plenty of fun. Thanks so much for sharing that with me and giving me a great dog’s life.’

Thank you Graeme for loving and looking after Aggie so well in my absence. And thanks to Libby and Petra for being there for him with oodles of your own hugs and cuddles.

And to dear Aggie, farewell my beloved friend. Enjoy chasing the rabbits and may you catch a cat or two.