Vanter
(His name is pronounced Vaughn-tay)
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Vanter (His name is pronounced Vaughn-tay)
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Please neuter your pet! |
Vanter with my size 8 moccasin; Oct 25, 2003.
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Are you thinking of getting a Papillon puppy if you have a larger dog? Let me tell you my story and then you decide what you want to do.
(You may want to have a tissue handy, depending on how sensitive you are.)
In Oct 2003, I purchased a Papillon puppy. I already had a Pap, Chevalier, and I also had an elderly 13 year old Border Collie, Meara. I was thrilled with my new puppy. Meara was getting to the point where I was wondering how many more months she had to live when I found this puppy. Then I saw his picture! He had markings almost identical to Meara. I thought - this is providence. It's meant to be! I picked him up at the airport on October 24, 2003 and the first thought that went through my head was, "OMG he's tiny!" Vanter fit in the palm of my hand. He weighed all of one pound! We drove home and I kept him separated from my dogs until his vet check and even then, I did not allow Vanter to be alone with them unsupervised. He was just too tiny, even for Chev to play with! He passed is vet check with flying colors, though the vet agreed that he certainly was not the age the breeder represented him to be. He was definitely younger. (Please do not contact me to ask who the breeder was or the age of Vanter - I will not provide that information) I took Vanter home and we played and bonded. Chev was jealous of course, he wanted to play with Vanter too! Meara ignored him. Then the unthinkable happened. I'll share with you the e-mail I sent to my brother the day after the tragic accident... This was written Friday, October 31, 2003. |
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"Hi, Last Friday I picked up a Papillon puppy that was purchased from a 'reputable' breeder in AR. (Since then I know she's probably a puppy miller after some strange answers this past weekend.) The puppy was supposed to be 10 weeks (I know, too early to pick up) and was very tiny (1 lb). He was supposed to be red/white but was a dark red sable. He was cute as a button of course and was eating and drinking. I spent the weekend taking him out every hour or two hours to start the housebreaking stuff. He was vetted on Monday with flying colors, although the vet agreed with me that he thought the puppy may have been even younger than 10 weeks. At night, the first couple of nights, I'd kept him in his crate but put it on the bed so he'd see Chev and me. Then the first part of this week I'd bring him out and let him curl up on my chest and we'd sleep a while, I'd get up and take him out, then we'd sleep some more, I'd get up and take him out, and then we'd sleep some more. I was taking him out 3-4 times a night. He never messed on me or the bed. He was so CUTE!! Yesterday morning after a nice time in the sunny backyard we were all on the back porch. I was throwing a tennis ball for Chev, Meara was laying by my feet and Vanter was wandering around, checking things out. The puppy, Vanter (pronounced Vaughn-tay), approached Meara while Meara was lying down with a rawhide near her feet. Meara lifted her lip at him and I told her to 'be easy'. She had never attacked Chev when he was a puppy. She looked at me and wagged her tail. Vanter wandered around some more and then began wandering toward Meara again. She lifted her lip, I said "Meerrraa.." warningly, she looked at me, wagged her tail, eyed Vanter, and then when Vanter took another step forward to reach out with his nose to check the bone she lifted her left paw and pinned him to the floor. It happened just as I was reaching for him. I heard a little snap sound and Vanter's head slowly tucked in toward his chest. He made no sound, no struggle, and did not try to get out from under Meara's paw. I grabbed him up but it was too late. His eyes were open but his head just flopped back. He was still breathing in a somewhat labored manner. I ran inside carrying him, put on shoes, ran to the car and in five minutes was at the vet's. I ran inside, told them what happened (I was crying hysterically by then) and begged them to give him a shot to go ahead and put him down since I could not. I figured Meara had broken his back. They immediately took him back into the back room. A minute later the vet tech came out and said they had not needed to give him a shot at all, he had died before they could. She said she thought he was brain dead the moment it happened and that it had just taken a few minutes for the body to stop. I've been crying since then. I don't know why I didn't stop him from approaching Meara or why I didn't move the bone. I should have known better. I just didn't think she'd do anything while I was there and I'd never have left him alone with her or Chev by themselves until he was bigger. Meara is used to trying to pin Chev with her paw but he's much bigger of course. He was also much bigger when I got him as a puppy. She never tried to pin Chev with her paw until he was about 10 months old. She'd been ignoring Vanter since I got him other than a couple of sniffs as she'd done with Chev when I got him as a puppy. I feel so guilty. I'd been waiting for a year and a half for another Pap puppy. Yes he wasn't what the breeder had represented to me but his marking were almost exactly like Meara's so I thought that was a sign that he was to be with us. Meara is getting older and I don't know if she'll last through next year. Of course I said that last year too. His markings were such that his face was almost a miniature of Meara's. I thought it was neat that when Meara dies that Vanter would look a bit like her. It's ironic that she was the one that killed him - even by accident. I feel so damn bad! I shouldn't have let him near her. I watched Chev with him closely because Chev wanted to play with him but I wouldn't let him yet because Vanter was so little. It never occurred to me that Meara would touch him at all - even with a paw. I didn't tell Elizabeth, Dusty, the girls, Judy or anyone else about him until yesterday after he'd died. I was going to wait a couple of more weeks until he was a bit bigger before telling everyone. I knew the girls would want to see him and he was just so damn tiny that I was afraid something would happen even if they kept him on the ground. So I also feel guilty for not telling anyone about him until now. Anyway, there isn't anything you can do - I just thought I'd go ahead and tell you before you might hear it from someone else. Love, Holly" |
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| You may be saying to
yourself, "This won't happen with MY dog. I know MY dog!"
Well so did I. Meara had two obedience titles, had most of her UD work down pat and was the most wonderful dog I'd ever had. She didn't attack Vanter, she just didn't want him near the bone and knew I didn't want her doing anything so, being the smart dog that she was, she did the only other option she knew to try which was pinning him, as she'd done with Chevalier so many times. But Chev wasn't a one pound puppy when she did that to him. He was much bigger than Vanter when I got him and even bigger when I finally let the two of them together. After three years, which is how long it's taken to put up this page, I've learned to live with what happened and I know accidents happen. My heart still aches for Vanter. Six days. I had my Vanter for six lovely, short days. Other people can keep bigger dogs with Paps and be fine. This is just what happened to me. So should you get a Papillon when you have a larger dog in the house? It's your decision. Good luck with whatever you decide. Holly |
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Various pictures of Vanter, Oct 25, 2003.
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Out for a stroll in the big wide world!
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Meara and Vanter - Are you my mother?
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Ooohhh! Look a tasty ball!
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Enjoying the sunshine together.
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Off to explore now!
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Are you my Mother?
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Hey Chev, let me tell you a secret!
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Can I eat this?
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Pictures taken three days later on October 28, 2003.
Vanter died two days later.
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Oh yes, I'm VERY cute!
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A little running now. Wheeee!
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More exploring.
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Chev doesn't care if I check his rawhide out because he's more interested in checking me out!
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I sniff you...
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Moooommmmyyy!!! Chev's sniffing me!!!
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It's a what? A toy? What's a toy?
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Hmmm...I think it's a little big for me right now.
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