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Casco Bay Pirate (AKA Pirate Phipps)
Pirate was a dog with a shining soul. Everyone who met him fell in love
with him. His great loves were his family, playing football (he never was
much of a team player as he insisted on keeping the ball once he had
acquired it!), bananas and finding great huge sticks in the woods which
he persisted in dragging home with him. As a puppy and young dog, he had a
great fondness for traffic cones and would "rag" them if he managed to get
his teeth into one. Did he think they were alien Darleks and his job was
protecting planet earth? We will never know. Pirate also loved teddy bears
and stuffed toys of any description and especially as a young dog would
steal teddies and then carry them around very gently as he knew they did
not belong to him. As a more mature dog, he seemed to lose his fascination
with teddies but still liked to sleep with one, especially during his final
illness. Pirate loved Levi, the youngest member of the family and acted as
his protector whenever the little boy napped on the sofa. Pirate would
sleep with him, but would open one eye if anyone came near, as if to ensure
that they would not disturb his charge.
Speaking of his final illness. Pirate was a brave dog with a generous
heart. He came down with an acute liver infection of unknown origin over
four years before his death. He became severely jaundiced and all his liver
function tests showed very abnormal liver enzymes. He recovered, we always
thought fully and we attributed his surprising recovery to the power of
love. However, the damage to his liver probably continued silently over the
intervening years until his liver could no longer maintain normal
functions. Even then, Pirate tried hard and made a brief , if incomplete
recovery where his eyes regained their normal sparkle and his ascites
almost disappeared (except for a small soft pouch of fluid). Sadly, even
his strong will and brave heart were not enough to sustain him and he
rapidly declined.
Pirate never forgot a friend and greeted friends with a wag and a friendly
grin. As I would be unwilling to contemplate a heaven without man's best
friend, someday when I have to cross that lonely bridge, I hope to find a
strong little black dog waiting to accompany me with a happy wag and a big
grin.
Pirate died at home. His death was peaceful , after an uncomfortable night
of coughing. He must have known it was imminent as he went to be with his
beloved Noah, and lay down on the floor by his bed and breathed his last
breath. He is sadly missed and will always be in our hearts as much more
than "just" a dog. His mother and his friends the cats came to spend some
time with him after his death, as if paying their last respects.
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