VanDyke
February 14, 1982 - July 19, 1996
My mom found VanDyke the day before my 13th birthday in May 1982, and brought her home; it was love at first sight. The vet estimated she was 3 months old and had been out on the streets for a good month. She was covered with tar and had every parasite imaginable. Well, we finally got her healthy just in time for her to be hit by a car in September. After a very long vet visit, several surgeries and a couple of pins in her hip, we brought her home for good. She was a beautiful, but very small, Irish Setter. She only weighed about 30 lbs and had the longest, curliest hair I've seen on a setter.
She was the craziest puppy ever. She was completely wild and unmanageable! She had learned to survive out on the streets and it was difficult to break her from stealing
food from either the dinner table or the trash! However, she settled down and became the best dog
ever! We went to obedience class and she actually passed! I can prove it; the certificate is hanging in my parent's hallway. She
slept in my bed every night, under the covers. When I went away for college, she came to visit me on several occasions.
She was terrified of thunderstorms and would cry and shake the whole bed when they came in the middle of the night. If they came during the day, she would sneak downstairs to the basement and hide out there where she couldn't hear them.
The laundry room was her favorite spot, especially when the washer or dryer
were on so she couldn't hear anything.
Our other dog, Brandy, didn't let her get away with anything. She made sure that VanDyke knew who was the boss of the house. Brandy would sleep in the doorway of the den where we would watch TV
at night. VanDyke would stand outside the doorway and bark until someone
When I finally moved out, it was difficult to do, but I left her at my parent's house. It was the only home she knew and it wouldn't have been fair to her to move her from there. I missed living with her and sharing my bed with her every night. I went to my parent's house often to see her and have one of our little "chats". I told her everything as I grew up; she was my best friend and the best listener ever!
I think her favorite day of all was Christmas. She would help me unwrap all my presents and she would have so much fun doing so! She would sit right in front of me, just waiting for me to pick up the next gift. All I had to do was hold it on my lap and she would open it for me. By the end of Christmas morning, we always had shredded wrapping paper everywhere. We couldn't leave any of her presents under the tree before Christmas morning or she would find them and open them early. This is without a doubt my favorite memory of her and I can not greet a Christmas morning without missing her.
As active as she was, VanDyke was not very healthy. She had ruined her
stomach with all the junk food she had out on the streets and all the people food she stole when she
first came to live with us. She was on a special bland food for most of her
life for chronic pancreatitis. She would occasionally get sick and as she got older, her episodes got more sever. As the end approached, she couldn't
keep any food down and we were holding ice cubes for her to lick so she wouldn't get dehydrated.
One Friday, I went to work and just kept getting a really bad feeling. I ended up leaving work and going to my mom's house for the day. That entire day, I laid with her, held her, and talked to her. She was so weak at that point that she couldn't even walk. She had just gone through this a few months earlier and had gotten better. I think we were hoping she would get better again. The vet said she wasn't in any pain, she just didn't feel good. My parents were leaving that night to go on vacation and had planned to
board her at the vet for the time they were gone. I dropped her off there on my way home.
All the way home, I thought about it and finally came to the only decision I could. I called the vet and said, "she's not going to get better this time is she?" His answer was what I had feared. He said, "no, she's not. But I think your mom is having trouble making that decision." I then informed him that my mom had not made the decision because it was mine to make, and I made it then and there. I called my mom and told her and we all went back up to the vet. He had her in a back room with her in her bed on the table. I don't remember much except for holding her and sobbing and my mom saying "she's gone, she's in heaven now" and me sobbing "But Brandy's probably at the gate and won't let her in!" It was the hardest thing I have ever done but I remember a feeling of peace coming over me on my drive home and a feeling that she was finally free. That night, I woke up in the middle of the night, and my dog Addy was standing on my bed, looking towards the middle of the room and growling softly. I knew that it was VanDyke coming to say goodbye to me, I completely felt her presence and it was very comforting. I told Addy to be nice to VanDyke and to go back to sleep.
She is buried in the flower garden in my parent's backyard, next to Brandy. My mom found a little plaque that says "The warmth of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, one is closer to God in a garden, than anyplace else on earth." Enjoy the garden at the Bridge and have fun my beautiful puppy.
Your place I'll hold, you will be missed, the fur I stroked,
the nose I kissed.
And as you journey to your final rest, take with you this...I loved you best.
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