Abbey

Born March 16, 2000 - Died July 19, 2009

Our oldest baby Abbey has died after 9 loving years together.

She was the first pet me & Andrew had together, she had been with us through everything. All the places we lived, the pubs we visited, the walks along the South Downs and beaches in England. She was my companion when I was home alone in England. We picked her up from a breeder's place just outside of Maidstone, her first album heard was Smashing Pumpkins and she fit in the palm of your hand.

We'd play games together in our flat, sit outside in the back garden listening to music, and she just loved being around us. We have some great videos & pictures of her to remind us of the good times, and the time we came home to find she had opened our mail for us. The mail happened to include samples of tea or some sort of food product that quickly became destroyed and thrown all around the house... her cute face of guilt was adorable.

Being our first 'child' she was the hardest to train. House-breaking took a good full year or longer, she was low in self-esteem around other dogs because of Percy (a bulldog she met on a walk at an early age), but she did enjoy her walks and car journeys to see Uncle Michael. Just asking her if she wanted to visit Uncle Michael got her so excited. She'd lick the car windows and bounce around with happiness....even after an hour or so into the journey she would just know when we were close to home or Kuringai and would perk up again. We would stop for breaks at rest stops and have our pictures made together in those silly photo booths with ridiculous backgrounds.

Most of the time she would go to the Hare & Hounds with us to sit in the beer garden. She'd love a slurp or two off the top of Andrew's pint. The Pub Landlord, Tony, would bring her a bag of chips or some ham to enjoy. She was never a stranger there.... multiple times she chewed through her leash and would wonder around the pub's kitchen unknown looking for treats. These are some of the reasons she became Abbey Lardo. She was the Queen of begging.

Abbey Lardo T-Dawg Nut Sack Simmonds was our little funny made up full name for her. She would sleep on the bed with us for several years - due to a trick Uncle Michael taught her! - and our clothes basket was another favorite spot. Once she started snoring there was no sleep to be had... the absolute LOUDEST snoring dog I've ever heard. Even visitors would comment and be amused by how loud she was. We'd have to pause movies/tv/music to wake her up for a moment's silence....now the snoring is greatly missed.

She had such sweet cheeks, very soft and very kissable. In the last years especially she could get away with murder (if she could have been bothered). She even had Andrew convinced the he must carry her to the kennel at night - every night. We never really had to worry about her running off or getting into trouble, she could spend hours outside just pottering around. She enjoyed cooling off in a fish pond in the front yard or going to the river for a swim. Definitely a water baby making her happy snorts. Once inside the house she discovered the air conditioning vent was the coolest spot to lay, or on the tiles at the fireplace...she had her on little spots in the house where we knew she'd always be.

Losing her has been very difficult and I'm sure it will continue to be hard for some time. Over the last year her older age had been showing. Vets never seemed to push for medical attention so we believed she was OK. She came into the house on Sunday and was acting odd, like she was in shock. Her ankle was swollen and we thought she may have hurt it... she seemed to get worse. The emergency vet clinic said to bring her in. When she wouldn't take a doggie treat then I knew it was trouble. Our girl stopped breathing in the car and the vet couldn't revive her. She absolutely loved car rides and just seeing her leash made her happy - even when she was dying.

She is in the garden now with our other pets sleeping. I also like to think she is with the Captain enjoying as many doggie treats her little heart desires. There is a huge hole in our family now, but she has put so many memories into our heart that cannot be forgotten.