Anya was our first born child. She was our everything for six years. She went nearly everywhere with us. She took agility "lessons" and was the cutest little agility dog weaving polls and running through tunnels (she still loves to run through T Rex's tunnels).
Then we switched gears and she became a certified therapy dog. We would spend several nights a month visiting the kids at the hospital.
We had to work hard to get her. She is a rare breed - Bolognese. So rare that when we tried to get one of these dogs the waiting list was 6-12 months long. We contacted a breeder in Italy and he was happy to help speed the process along. It was a challenge because the original Anya was scheduled to arrive September 11, 2001. Because of the events of that day, we ended up with our particular Anya instead of the original.
It just so happens she was the daughter of the international champion. In order for us to take her, the breeder made us agree to breed her at least once as there were only about 1000 of these dogs left in the world and her breeding was so good we had to pass along those good genes. (Most of these little dogs were wiped out during World War II - the breed originated in Italy. A handful of breeders have been working to bring them back for many years. If you were ever to spend time with one, you would understand why they are so amazing.)
Indeed, she had one healthy litter of puppies two years latter. And two years after that, the litter died and a little piece of Anya did too. She had an emergency c-section and had to be spayed as there was no saving her uterus. We felt so horrible for her. We even got another Bolognese puppy (a grandchild of hers) to fill the void. When she came home from the hospital she would wander aimlessly looking for her puppies. We had Sonador until just a month or so ago. And in a need to simplify our lives, we found a new home for Sona.
Now Anya can go back to being Queen of the Castle. And she is learning to put up with the energetic T Rex, as you can see from the photo. She is truly a one-in-a-million canine.
So, here's to you Miss Anya. Thanks for being the best canine friend, daughter, and companion we could ever ask for.
3 comments:
What a great story about your Anya. Sounds like she is a great dog. It was probably so sad to see her lose her puppies.
Anya looks like a happy queen of the castle! She's really adorable. I'm sure T-Rex loves her so much. Just wait until the new baby comes. Anya will like seeing all those cute baby toys coming in to the house.
Wow ... what an interesting story about your dog. She (and the breed) sound like amazing animals ... and cute too! And people who think that animals don't have emotions are just fooling themselves.
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