Atticus's Page
Weight: 65
Breed: Mix
Age when diagnosed: 3
Tumors:
- Osteosarcoma in the
Rib
Atticus J. Dog
Atticus was a beautiful soul, a gentle leader, and a protector of the family. He came to us as a 10 week old puppy in June of 2002. We had moved into our first house in March and could not wait to adopt a puppy. I am a teacher, so we decided to delay getting a dog until my summer vacation so that I could spend more time with a puppy.
We knew we wanted to adopt a dog from Rescue Pup in Mill Creek, Washington. Originally, we thought we wanted a puppy from a Newfoundland/Golden Retriever litter that had been left in a dumpster. When we went to Rescue Pup to fill out the paperwork and meet the puppies, the owner, Allisha, introduced us to Atticus. He was recovering from being very overheated and had spent some time at the vet's on an IV. He and his siblings had been left on the side of a road in a rabbit cage in the hot weather.
Atticus was the most relaxed, laid back puppy. Allisha told us that this was his true personality and that he was a very special boy. Atticus let his sister Pearl jump all over him and bite his ears and never seemed annoyed.
We brought Atty home, and he was indeed a very special boy. Eager to please, happy, and quickly trustworthy, he learned everything quickly. When we went on walks that summer, I quickly learned to factor in at least an extra hour because of all the stopping that we'd do so Atty could meet all the people.
In August, when I went back to school, Atty went to day care, and as he got older, he was given the job of greeter for new clients. Atty was so intelligent about people and dogs that the day care owner would put the new dog in the yard with only Atty, who was trusted to welcome the new dog.
The next summer, we got a call from Rescue Pup about a four month old puppy named Mara with a tragic case of demodex mange. She had been in foster care for a few weeks, but was still in bad shape. We decided to go meet her. When Atty met her, he licked her scabby face and immediately laid down next to her. When another dog came into the store, Atty growled at the dog, surprising everyone, and positioned himself between that dog and Mara. It was love at first sight. Mara and Atty were inseparable after that.
At first, Mara was too weak to go on our marathon walks, so we had to leave her at home for those. Atty didn't like to leave her, but he also really loved his walks. There was a nice lady who would leave biscuits for dogs passing by and Atty always liked to visit her house. On one of these walks, he picked up a cookie to eat, but it wasn't until we'd returned to the house some 20 minutes later that we realized he didn't eat the cookie; instead, he dropped it at Mara's feet. Atticus truly was altruistic.
Atticus went everywhere with us, on errands, to the beach, on vacations, everywhere. As he grew, he became my eyes and ears for danger. As I walked with him, he would look people in the eyes and size them up. The vast majority of people elicited the same response from him, ears up, tail wagging, seeming to say "hello!" But once in a while, he would slightly stiffen his posture and hold his tail straight. I knew to avoid those people. I always felt safe with Atty. He would have done anything for me.
On New Year's Day in 2006, we noticed a small bump on his right ribcage. At first, the veterinarian and we thought it was a hematoma from a fall or a bump. A month later, after an exploratory surgery, Atty was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the rib at only 3½ years old. Immediately after the diagnosis, Atty received a CT scan, and we learned that the cancer had already metastasized into his lungs. The tumor was so large that surgery was not a viable option. Atty's prognosis was several weeks to a couple months to live. Thankfully, we joined BCD and learned about the metronomic protocol, which I think extended Atty's life and gave him better quality of life for 6 months.
The cancer forced us to make the most of every moment. We visited Galiano Island in Canada and stayed in a cabin near a sheep farm. We knew we had to keep Mara on a leash (the Australian Shepherd part of her could not control herself), but Atty was always the trustworthy sentinel who didn't need a leash. Uncharacteristically, Atty took off and the next thing we saw was a herd of sheep running one way, with an insanely happy Atty chasing them. Then we saw the herd run back the other way and we finally composed ourselves (we were laughing so hard) enough to call Atty over. He wasn't sure what all the fuss was about. He was just having fun.
We took many trips to the Oregon coast in that time so that Atty and Mara could play on the beach, one of their favorite places. On our last trip, in July, Atty found a tide pool that held a sea star, anemone, and some crabs and fish. He was absolutely fascinated by this tide pool. That was pure Atty, always curious about the world around him with a perpetual wonderment about how things worked. At times, he seemed more engineer than dog.
Atty did so well up until the last few weeks of his life, when he just seemed to slow down more and more each day. On August 15, 2006, Atty never left the bedroom. That evening, we convinced him to go for a walk, but he could not go far. Later that night when we let him out, he nested himself under a large fir tree in our yard. It took my husband ten minutes to pull him out from under the tree, and we knew that the time had come for us to make the hard decision that we had dreaded.
That night, we spent another hour with Atty in our bed. We decided that if he had not improved in the morning, then we would call the veterinarian. I awoke at about 2 a.m. that night and found Atty sleeping on the rug at the top of the stairs to the foyer. My husband awoke at 5 a.m., and he found that Atty had passed away while curled up at the top of the stairs on his sentinel rug. It was August 16, 2006.
A huge void was left in our family that day. I mourn the fact that our son will never get to know this beautiful soul, Atticus J. I miss our beloved Atty (aka Handlebars, Buddy, Big Guy, Sweet Pea, Goober, Freckles) every day.
Pictures
Happy Face Atticus
Beautiful Atticus J. Dog
Goggle Boy
Atticus Close Up
Atty's sister Mara
Atticus at the beach