~ Miles ~
adopted October 1999
traveled to the
Rainbow Bridge November 2008
very loved & very missed by his family
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| Miles keeping watch on "his children", December 2007 |
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Dear Anita,
It has been many years since I contacted you. We adopted a Sheltie from you back on October 12, 1999 and I am writing to let you know of his recent passing (we estimate he was around 13 years of age.) He was a truly remarkable, one in a million dog, a part of our family, and we don't know if we ever thanked you for finding him for us, but "thank you."
We got him from Luis [New Brunswick]; the dog was his mom's before she went into a nursing home, and he found himself unable to care for "Laddie," who we renamed "Miles." We had to get him directly from the owners since the foster homes were at capacity at the time. Lucky for us, he had no behavioral issues for us to work through; he just wanted attention, and we were more than happy to love him.
He was extremely active in the beginning and enjoyed running, jumping and barking (he would always spin while barking at cars -- don't know if this is a Sheltie thing, or something unique to this dog.) He was with us always, even slept with us.
When our daughter was born, two years later, he was never jealous, treated her like his own pup, always at her side. People always remarked on his kind and gentle nature; children who previously feared dogs were drawn to him; he sometimes needed to lay down and rest while being petted by all of the neighborhood kids at the bus stop. A more loyal and family-oriented dog, we could never find.
We love to tell a story of when our daughter was an infant and we were all in the backyard on July 4th weekend; Miles was off-leash and sleeping next to my husband when a firecracker went off nearby; the dog jumped up, ran to our baby, and laid down right across her to protect her from harm.
He suffered many ailments as he grew older, including severe arthritis, heart and lung disease. Even though we had to carry him up stairs as he got older, he still was content to have his herd together in one place and be next to us; he would bark if we went to a different floor without him. In his last few days, when I had to hold his head up to get food and water into him, praying the medications would work, he managed to stand and walk over to my daughter when he saw her playing on her swingset; I could not believe the loyalty in this dog; it just broke my heart.
I'm attaching a bunch of photos so you can get an idea of his life with us. It has only been a couple of weeks, and we are still grieving badly, but when we are ready (it may take a while, as we don't want to disrespect his memory), we would love to adopt another dog from you. We'd count ourselves lucky to find one even half as good as Miles. Please keep us on your email list should a really family-friendly dog become available.
Sincerely, the "M" family
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