Affaire's Taurus Moon, "Taurie"

Taurie was a show prospect that lived at my house until she was two. It was apparent that she and her sister, Ellie, were not going to be my next stars in the show ring and I had several other dogs in the house. I considered that they were not getting as much attention as I wanted to give them and although I never had placed a dog of my own before, I thought it might be the best thing for these two. I just had to find a home that would take them both.

A family that had one of my dogs from a previous litter contacted me about getting another puppy. I told them about these two girls and they came to see them and fell in love. Taurie, along with her litter sister Ellie, went to live with their uncle, Hunter, and a new family that had lots of love to give.

Boy, I never dreamed it would be so emotionally taxing to place these two girls. I knew they had a good home. I knew they were getting lots of attention that I could not provide here by myself with so many dogs. Yet, I couldn't talk about it without crying for quite some time afterward. I didn't go visit them for a couple of years because I knew I would not be able to hold back the tears and didn't want to upset the family. All these years later, I still feel sad thinking about that heart break.

A few years went by, the children in the family grew up and moved on to their own lives and the husband and wife were in divorce. Hunter was almost eight and the girls were five. All three came back here. I found another home for the two girls pretty quickly. They went to a very nice couple, Margaret and Matt, in Modesto. They got to stay together and had a new family to love.

Taurie's only health issue was a broken tooth that cause some issues, but other than that, she had a very healthy and long life. At 12 years old, her body was frail. Margaret and Matt gave her a great home, which I'm so grateful for. Their care got her to this age, but she was increasingly lethargic and not eating well. Even with meds, she couldn't get up or down well and was having trouble walking and navigating small obstacles like the threshhold of a door. It was her time, so Margaret and Matt set her free. She was the last of her litter to pass.

I can't express the gratitude that I have for having this lovely dog in my life and for the care Margaret and Matt gave her for the last seven years. Thank you! RIP beautiful girl.