[Leica] Harpo, RIP

[richard-lists at imagecraft.com (Richard)]

Darn, so sorry to hear that. My Mother-in-law, who has Stuart, the sister 
to Kiva, our blind (and once) crippled corgi, visited in April. He was 
having some sort of liver trouble for a few months. When she went home 
after 5 days, his conditions went terribly downhill and they have to put 
him to sleep ;_;

I am glad we still have Kiva, although she sleeps most of the time now.

Our thoughts are with you. Thank you for sharing Harpo with us.


At 11:33 PM 8/3/2006, Peter Klein wrote:

>The best dog I've ever known is gone, my friend and companion of 13 years.
>
>http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/HarpoLapBW5.jpg
>http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/harpolean.htm
>http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/paula_harpo.htm
>http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/E1/P4190807Harpo.jpg
>
>Harpo was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago.  Katya and I managed to 
>keep him alive and happy for those three years despite the odds.  All it 
>took was insulin shots twice a day, a special diet, the same amount of 
>exercise each day, a lot of love, and mass quantities of  money to our 
>vet.  It was worth every bit of effort and every penny.
>
>Harpo had a terrier-beagle heritage, with the most endearing combination 
>of terrier intelligence and feistiness, and beagle sweetness and eagerness 
>to please.  Once we got his blood sugar levels stable, he was pretty much 
>the same dog he'd always been. There were changes--no more table scraps, 
>and no more hiking in the mountains with us.  But he adjusted gracefully, 
>and still found joy in what he could do.  His condition required that he 
>"go out" frequently, and he learned to use a doggie door at age 10, 
>proving that you *can* teach an old dog new tricks.
>
>Harpo was a "people dog." His greatest joy was just being with us and 
>participating in everything we did.  Once, during a walk with my in-laws, 
>he refused to go home with only my mother-in-law, sitting and refusing to 
>budge until my father-in-law came out of the library. This prompted my 
>father-in-law to proclaim ever after in his thick Russian accent, "Kharpo 
>hez femily values."  My mother-in-law called him an "exquisite creature."
>
>Harpo loved everyone, licked everyone , and greeted his extra-special 
>friends with a cross between a howl, a yodel and a Wagnerian high 
>C.  Every evening when I came home from work, he would curve his body into 
>a C-shape and rub his side against me, making sure I knew I was the most 
>important person in the world. Most of my evening LUG posts were written 
>with him lying at my feet, or more likely, *on* them.
>
>He was fine on Sunday, Monday he stopped eating. Tuesday he could barely 
>walk. Today a test result showed that his liver was failing rapidly, 
>probably a long-term result of the diabetes.  He had only a few days of 
>painful decline left if we did nothing, so we did the kind thing.  And I 
>did a lot of crying tonight.
>
>--Peter
>
>
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>

// richard (This email is for mailing lists. To reach me directly, please 
use richard at imagecraft.com)