89. Goodbye Suzy!

Wouldn't it be nice if Tibet and China
could live together like the cat and the dog
in the basket

In 1993 I lived in Salford and taught in a school in Manchester, that’s when I met Suzy who sat waiting for me on my doorstep every time I came home from school and was there every morning when I left- so after a few days of that she came inside and became my dog. Then when I came to live in Italy, I brought her with me. She loved roaming around the hills, and didn’t mind sharing her basket with a visitor or two.

For a couple of years she had arthritis and hopped around as best she could, then for a month or so she waited on the mat until I lifted her up and took her out because she wasn’t able to walk. Last night she was sick so I left her on the mat outside the door with a small blue light and the radio playing so she would think I was there with her. This morning I lifted her up to put her in the car to take her to the vet but she hung her head side-ways breathed heavily a few times then leaving her eyes wide open- she was no more.

I put her in a barrow, covered her up and wheeled her into the garage where she will stay until I can get around to digging a hole big enough to put her in, but as it’s raining today, I guess it will be Thursday before I can put her to rest.

Just now, I took a look at her, expecting her to give me an awful impression because death is never pretty- but she looked her warm, friendly self- she wasn’t even angry that I had not managed to keep her alive just an hour or two more.

Suzy and Me in 1993in a Salford back yard