Che was something truly special to me!
Yes. Was....
Two weeks ago we had to let him cross the Rainbow Bridge all too suddenly, because of an aggressive heart tumour. At the end of July we would have celebrated his 10th birthday!
It all happened so fast that I still can't believe it.
Che, a dog with character.
He was one of the bravest and most motivated dogs I have ever known.
Always up for adventure and never one to miss out on any mischief — that was Che!
Never again will I see those questioning looks of his:
- "Are we finally going for a walk together?"
- "Frauli, can we go another round? Pleeeease!!"
- "Yeah, it's the weekend! What are we going to do?"
- "I'm really still hungry — can I have more?"
- "Look! I can do 'spin', 'speak' or 'bang'!!! I get a treat for that, right?"
When he wasn't lying in the sun (at what felt like 50 degrees body temperature) or snuggling with me,
he was eager to learn and incredibly intelligent!
His hobbies.
Doing tricks was a major hobby of ours. He learned incredibly fast and was always (sometimes overly) eager. Especially whenever I came up with something new. Whenever agility equipment appeared anywhere, Che immediately knew how to conquer the obstacle. And the word "fear" simply did not exist in his dog vocabulary.
Food was another passion he happily pursued. The breakfast Golatsche from Herrli was always shared with "Bubu", as he was lovingly called.
On top of that, the courtyard had to be guarded: the blackbirds and squirrels were not allowed to take over everywhere!
Che and his fellow dogs.
Che had his quirks when it came to other dogs. That made him my teacher — I learned a lot about communication, body language and social behaviour among our beloved four-legged friends. And so he prepared me well to be ready for Murphy's further development.
With Murphy, Che was a wonderful older "brother" and mentor. Cuddling and playing was the order of the day — after one week of "ignoring". Che supported us from the very start, which made raising Murphy a lot easier. Che's credo when it came to Murphy was:
"Tolerance & fun, with the necessary measure of firmness!"
The dark Frenchie also had plenty of dog friends, and at home he always greeted guests with joy and ease, or looked forward to a little game in the garden.
Outings and hikes with his pals were something he particularly enjoyed — as long as he was out and about!
The two of us.
Our bond was strong.
During a mentally difficult time, he was my four-legged rock in the storm.
He empathised with me, but didn't let himself be pulled down and tried to distract me. And even though I wasn't mentally stable, he neither took advantage of that nor turned away from me.
I am incredibly grateful to him for that!
In the 4 years that I was allowed to be his Frauli, we had an incredible amount of fun and shared so very much together. He had a very fulfilled dog's life. Che chose me, and I accepted his invitation. He was my companion whenever it was possible!
Thank you, Bubu!
Che leaves a terribly big hole in our lives, but he left behind so many beautiful memories that we'll be telling stories about "Bubu" for a long time to come — and laughing as we do.
When the time had come...
"Che, I thank you for the love you showed me
and for the trust you placed in me.
I didn't truly understand you from the very beginning, but I always respected you.
Just as you respected me!
We were an unbreakable team.
I love you to the moon and back.You are my heart dog!"
