My boy Aizen... I write this still consumed by grief, but I feel that my little one's deserve to have their story told and in it if there is a single fur baby or human child that is saved by our story then our loss will not have been in vain.
Asa's second litter, she had only two pups both male which is why I nicknamed them Big brother and little brother. Both were perfect in every way. Perhaps that is just my bias opinion but because they were never intended to be anything more than my baby boys it didn't matter what anyone else thought or said about them.
Aizen specifically though hit me the hardest. He was always the stronger more dominate one. He followed me everywhere I was going and unlike my other shiba's rarely strayed far from my side. If I went inside a door without him he would often just sit and stare at the door waiting for it to either open and let him in or for me to come out. It never mattered to him which were to be the case as long as he was beside me.
He was every bit as smart and devious as his brother Buddha from Asa's first litter. But Aizen was not just intelligent beyond what you would consider possible for a dog he was social. He loved to talk and howl. But not to the point that it was obnoxious. He knew when enough was enough and he would stop and observe.
The last day that I had (truly) with him, was just 48 hours before he passed away. We were in the back yard with the family. We were all building my kids a jungle gym as Aizen ran around behind us trying to run off with tools. When we would take breaks we'd take turns playing fetch with him. And he would pounce and spring as happy as could be. I knew just watching him as he smiled up at me that he was quite possibly one of the best things that had ever come into my life.
But just like that...he came down sick. It was so sudden and despite our efforts and him being so strong and fighting so hard. He lost the battle taking a part of me with him.
The symptoms were similar to what happen to Buddha and Renji but where would he get rat poisoning from? Any that my house had been treated with had surly been washed away by the rain by now. But then it was suggested that it could have been a plant since he was outside playing with the family all day nipping at the grass and leaves in the yard.
So I took my camera out and photographed every single blade of grass, leaf, shrub, flower, weed and berry in and around my yard. Then I went to the internet and began searching. I had over 47 different plans around my home and within the first six four of them came up being poisonous.
I had no idea it was so dangerous around my house. I warded against, all the normal things people worry about but these plants I grew up around all my life. It never even crossed my mind that they could be poisonous.
So, readers. If you have young children. If you have pets that like to "explore" and be adventurous. Keep in mind that you don't have to go anywhere to have an adventure, or to explore new things. There are things all around us that we may not even notice and perhaps even take for granted. So no matter how trustworthy your children may be or how harmless your pets actions may seem. Remember being a first time parent and how you went nuts running around trying to child-proof everything and spent hundreds of dollars on crap that claimed to "keep the baby out" but really only kept you out. Take that paranoia and hold onto it for as long as you have your little one near. We grow wiser every day to the gimmicks of society. Sometimes, we fall prey to things that we shouldn't have, but we learn. When we learn we grow and we become better people and do things better next time. So that wisdom, use it always, and temper that paranoia into a super-mega-radar system designed to protect your family.
Aizen 1/1/12 - 4/14/12
You touched my heart, you changed me, you made me a better person and a better mother.
I will always love and miss you. You are a "Good Boy"
"Good Boy Aizen"
