The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master. Ben Hur Lampman
A Remembrance of Bullet
We are truly saddened to tell you that at the age of 12 years, 7 months, Bullet succumbed to prostatic cancer on June 5, some three months plus after a differential diagnosis of his condition. Bullet was a joyful, jaunty, playful and incredibly loving Aussie and a central member of our family. With kind, palliative care from his vets, Bullet enjoyed “bonus time” well beyond the month to six weeks typical for the disease to run its course - and he remained comfortable, active and engaged with family to his last day. After a truly difficult early morning on the 5th, Felicity took him to the local emergency vet who had followed him closely for the last two weeks, where they made Bullet comfortable and all awaited Jim’s arrival from two hours’ distant. Once again, Bullet just lit up as Jim entered the room and after some quality time together, we stroked, kissed and held our beautiful boy as he was put to sleep.
Despite being a veteran of several prior homes and two stays in SPCA shelters Bullet retained an unusual capacity to
fully give his heart and soul to a new family. At age 8, he found his way to a magical two hundred year old log cabin farm house in Canada near Niagara Falls, where he enjoyed an extended stay with wonderful ARPH foster parents and a menagerie of Aussies, Corgis, cats and house rabbits. He was particularly devoted to his foster mom and she to him, but they had recently adopted Mollie and so could not keep Bullet as their own.
In January, 2009, our elder daughter, our second Aussie and Jim drove across Massachusetts and New York through a blizzard to meet this handsome blue merle, and early the next morning on a crisp, sunny winter day arrived at the
farm. Katy and Maia remained in our van, while Jim went into the log cabin home to meet the foster family. Three cats and corgi greeted Jim as he sat in their parlor and made us feel at home. Foster mom brought Bullet in while Jim was sitting on the floor engaged with the cats. Bullet immediately strained at his leash, then calmly walked over to where Jim was sitting, placed one front paw on Jim’s right shoulder and the other on his left and began gently licking his face, as if to say: “I know you - and I have been waiting for you - you are my particular person and it’s about time you got here - whatever took you so long?” Katy received a similarly warm greeting when she came in. We brought in Maia and the dogs showed considerable enthusiasm in greeting each other - we let the dogs out into a fenced yard together, and we knew the dogs were getting along when we heard excited cat noises, much barking and chasing and visually confirmed that the two dogs were acting in tandem as they played with (attempted to dismember) one of the family cats - and that settled that.
After tearful goodbyes, we loaded up in the van, Bullet (accompanied by his two Gund teddy bears, floppy white
sheep and black and white cow toys) and set out for our home. We cleared customs and immigration at the border without incident and arrived home late in the afternoon. Bullet raced upstairs to meet Felicity, waggling and offering
her his bear with an affectionate nudge, which became his signature mode of greeting.
Bullet enjoyed a special relationship with Felicity and truly stole her heart from that moment. He also became Jim’s constant companion and tended to stay near him at home at all times, generally sleeping on a dog bed at his side. When Jim left the room, Bullet trotted six or eight feet behind, although this pattern often changed for a few hours in the evening, when Bullet and Maia joined Felicity on a loveseat in the den, and she would read or watch TV, her arms
supported by two “bookend” Aussies whose sleeping heads rested on the loveseat arms at either end. After “night-night” crackers at bedtime, Bullet and Maia would go upstairs to join Jim and await Felicity’s arrival for bed, whose
arrival simultaneously signaled bedtime and the issuance of two delicious Tums to each. Bullet was also Maia’s devoted companion until her passing in 2012, and he was an attentive, mellow house mate to farm-girl Oreo, also adopted through ARPH in 2012.
Bullet’s merle fur was exceptionally soft, even for an Aussie, so stroking him was as rewarding for the person stroking his fur as he! Given that gorgeous fur and his slightly large lop ears, we teased that his grandmother had to be rabbit and mused that bunnies everywhere were envious of his coat! Bullet was a wonderful car rider - although his enthusiasm would “bark over” en route to the woods! In the woods, he was lightning fast and enjoyed incredible stamina, and racing around with other dogs in a game of chase was a favorite activity. Quite the watchdog,
whenever he heard our garage doors opening, Bullet trotted eagerly to get a toy - one of his bears, or Maia’s hippo, or a hedgehog - to wait at the top of the basement stairs to greet the family member or intruder just arriving. With two
open cushioned crates and multiple dog beds, he and Maia never were possessive - just used whichever was available - unless they were happily ensconced on our bed!
Bullet became an enthusiastic therapy dog in visits to a nursing home memory unit, where he interacted happily with
residents and was a particular joy to Jim’s mother at age 88. Until this past November, Bullet’s level of agility and unblemished level of health was truly astounding for a dog of 12 years. Over the next three months, he had three brief
epileptic seizures which alarmed us greatly but, strangely, did not persist.
We enjoyed four and a half years of our wonderful canine boy and his generosity of spirit continued throughout. We
remember Bullet as always joyful and devoted to his people, interested and interactive with other dogs, always up for a hike in the hills or playing ball or fetch the stick - truly a dog who enjoyed being a dog and an Aussie through
and through.
Always handsome and graceful Bullet, R.I.P. (Run in peace!!).
Despite being a veteran of several prior homes and two stays in SPCA shelters Bullet retained an unusual capacity to
fully give his heart and soul to a new family. At age 8, he found his way to a magical two hundred year old log cabin farm house in Canada near Niagara Falls, where he enjoyed an extended stay with wonderful ARPH foster parents and a menagerie of Aussies, Corgis, cats and house rabbits. He was particularly devoted to his foster mom and she to him, but they had recently adopted Mollie and so could not keep Bullet as their own.
In January, 2009, our elder daughter, our second Aussie and Jim drove across Massachusetts and New York through a blizzard to meet this handsome blue merle, and early the next morning on a crisp, sunny winter day arrived at the
farm. Katy and Maia remained in our van, while Jim went into the log cabin home to meet the foster family. Three cats and corgi greeted Jim as he sat in their parlor and made us feel at home. Foster mom brought Bullet in while Jim was sitting on the floor engaged with the cats. Bullet immediately strained at his leash, then calmly walked over to where Jim was sitting, placed one front paw on Jim’s right shoulder and the other on his left and began gently licking his face, as if to say: “I know you - and I have been waiting for you - you are my particular person and it’s about time you got here - whatever took you so long?” Katy received a similarly warm greeting when she came in. We brought in Maia and the dogs showed considerable enthusiasm in greeting each other - we let the dogs out into a fenced yard together, and we knew the dogs were getting along when we heard excited cat noises, much barking and chasing and visually confirmed that the two dogs were acting in tandem as they played with (attempted to dismember) one of the family cats - and that settled that.
After tearful goodbyes, we loaded up in the van, Bullet (accompanied by his two Gund teddy bears, floppy white
sheep and black and white cow toys) and set out for our home. We cleared customs and immigration at the border without incident and arrived home late in the afternoon. Bullet raced upstairs to meet Felicity, waggling and offering
her his bear with an affectionate nudge, which became his signature mode of greeting.
Bullet enjoyed a special relationship with Felicity and truly stole her heart from that moment. He also became Jim’s constant companion and tended to stay near him at home at all times, generally sleeping on a dog bed at his side. When Jim left the room, Bullet trotted six or eight feet behind, although this pattern often changed for a few hours in the evening, when Bullet and Maia joined Felicity on a loveseat in the den, and she would read or watch TV, her arms
supported by two “bookend” Aussies whose sleeping heads rested on the loveseat arms at either end. After “night-night” crackers at bedtime, Bullet and Maia would go upstairs to join Jim and await Felicity’s arrival for bed, whose
arrival simultaneously signaled bedtime and the issuance of two delicious Tums to each. Bullet was also Maia’s devoted companion until her passing in 2012, and he was an attentive, mellow house mate to farm-girl Oreo, also adopted through ARPH in 2012.
Bullet’s merle fur was exceptionally soft, even for an Aussie, so stroking him was as rewarding for the person stroking his fur as he! Given that gorgeous fur and his slightly large lop ears, we teased that his grandmother had to be rabbit and mused that bunnies everywhere were envious of his coat! Bullet was a wonderful car rider - although his enthusiasm would “bark over” en route to the woods! In the woods, he was lightning fast and enjoyed incredible stamina, and racing around with other dogs in a game of chase was a favorite activity. Quite the watchdog,
whenever he heard our garage doors opening, Bullet trotted eagerly to get a toy - one of his bears, or Maia’s hippo, or a hedgehog - to wait at the top of the basement stairs to greet the family member or intruder just arriving. With two
open cushioned crates and multiple dog beds, he and Maia never were possessive - just used whichever was available - unless they were happily ensconced on our bed!
Bullet became an enthusiastic therapy dog in visits to a nursing home memory unit, where he interacted happily with
residents and was a particular joy to Jim’s mother at age 88. Until this past November, Bullet’s level of agility and unblemished level of health was truly astounding for a dog of 12 years. Over the next three months, he had three brief
epileptic seizures which alarmed us greatly but, strangely, did not persist.
We enjoyed four and a half years of our wonderful canine boy and his generosity of spirit continued throughout. We
remember Bullet as always joyful and devoted to his people, interested and interactive with other dogs, always up for a hike in the hills or playing ball or fetch the stick - truly a dog who enjoyed being a dog and an Aussie through
and through.
Always handsome and graceful Bullet, R.I.P. (Run in peace!!).