Momo-chan
While casual observers often mistook her for a fox, Momo-chan (11/22/1992
- 12/13/2007) in fact was a Shiba Inu of rare beauty and exceptional charm.
Before entering my life at the age of six, she had already enjoyed
considerable success in her career as a breeding and show dog -- "super mom"
and "super model." Momo-chan was more than just a pretty face, however, and
impressed all who knew her with her sweetness, intelligence, independent
spirit and infectious joie de vivre. Her name, which she acquired at the
time of our mutual adoption, means "Little Peach" in the tongue of her
native land. Her personality was larger than life -- so much so, that on
several occasions when I picked her up at the kennel after an out of town
trip, I found myself expecting her to be physically larger than she actually
was.
Even during her long and increasingly debilitating illness, Momo-chan bore
herself with a cheerful and resolute mien, and remained indomitable until
the end. Having her euthanized was the hardest and most painful decision I
have ever had to make. It was the right thing to do, but it has left a vast,
aching emptiness in my home and in my heart.
Sayonara, Momo-chan. Watashi no iki-gai deshita.
Stan L.
