"Taka"
by Amanda Byrd
Taka, in 2004 ruptured his ACL and to pay for his TPLO surgery I held a fund-raising yard sale. My friends donated goods, some very good stuff. We sold about $300 worth of items and two total strangers donated $100 each. Many people came to the yard sale and could not find anything they wanted and just donated $10 or so. My heart was swelling and my dog played the poor patient very well. I raised another $500 through odd jobs. People would send work my way, including a job going to bars with a survey for an Alaskan brewery asking people their opinion of three different cartoons. We went to a veterinary Anchorage and Taka had the surgery that changed his life. It was major surgery, but once he recovered he was a new dog. It took 6 months of constant therapy to get Taka back to normal. He raced again and loved to play with my puppies while they were learning to become sled dogs.
One of his favorite things to do was to accompany me blueberry picking. He would do his own thing, chasing butterflies, eating berries and springing through the air, bouncing over the berry patches. He would come back with his paws and mouth bright red from eating lots of various berries.
In late 2006 Taka ran off from the yard with another of my wandering huskies. I knew they would come back so I didn't go looking for them. Four hours later they ran back into the yard, proud of their adventures. One thing I noticed was that Taka was limping. I thought nothing of it, and assumed he had had a little too much fun. As time went by, his wrist did not stop swelling, and the limping was much worse. An initial vet exam showed nothing too major, so a course of anti-inflammatories was given. When the limping became noticeably worse and the swelling had increased overnight I took him in for an x-ray. You know the prognosis is not good when the vet cries before she gives you the results. She loved Taka, but what she found broke her heart. Taka had highly advanced bone cancer that was already half way through his leg. There was no cure for this. We x-rayed his chest and found small particles of cancer in his lunges too. My vet gave me the standard 3 months to live, but deep down she knew it would be far less. His last days were very happy for him, he was on strong pain medication and he would romp around the yard harassing the puppies. One afternoon he broke his leg. It was 3 days later that I had to put Taka down. Having him put down was the easiest decision I made.
I have this painting in my living room and I see it every morning on my way downstairs and every evening before I go to sleep. Taka's eyes were so striking and honest. His big furry body was wonderful to rub my face into. I have such fond memories, and seeing his portrait every day makes me happy that he is still a part of my daily life.
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