Snowy, a female Maltese, was born in Sydney, Australia. From the day we bought her she was a darling to everyone who came into contact with her. Her warm personality made her the one special dog that stood out from the others. She was very affectionate towards humans, never bit anyone and was a tough girl who fought for one year with the tumour above her left eyebrow and in her mouth.
She had a cheerful disposition and what I would call "a happy dog". She was delightfully playful, brimming with energy and knew how to prime herself to win everyone's affection. Even a cousin who was afraid of dogs, got so attached to Snowy after a visit that she cuddled her the whole day and offered to bring her to her home. That's how Snowy had been as a pet.
At our first meeting with Snowy we discovered that she loved to play hide-and-seek with anyone who was game to run around the sofa and chase her. Like a child, she would spin around and hid herself and dart from one side of the sofa to the other in glee. Whenever someone came home, she would gladly rush to the door and then darted back to pick up a ball to welcome you. She would be so pleased to see you home to give you a warm greeting with the ball in her mouth. How she learnt this trick, no one knew as we didn't teach. Perhaps she learnt it when she was put at the pet farm when everyone was away on vacation. She gave birth to two puppies, fathered by Goofy (who incidentally passed away a year ago on 12 March 2009). One puppy died after birth and the other is Richie who is one alone as an orphan, pinning for his mother.
Snowy lived a fulfilling life in many ways. She lived in apartments and in a detached house in Hunter's Hill (Sydney). She romped around Sydney from Bondi beach to other QVB and shopping areas. She eventually flew to Singapore which was to be her new found home. Like a true Aussie, she enjoyed sun-tanning on days when the sun was at its zenith and would sit in the blazing heat as if to get a good tan. She loved eating just about anything from chocolate to French fries, biscuits, and all types of tidbits. She was a sprinter as she darted from one end of the garden to the other...notwithstanding her short legs. What a girl she was...small eyes, cute face and cuddly body. She could even pirouette on her two hind legs to stand up and peek into our neighbour's house.
We had prayed for her to have some quality of life as the tumour grew from the crown of her eyes to her forehead. It was about half the size of a pingpong ball and we decided to let the vet removed it. He cautioned that it may trigger the cancer to deteriorate. Snowy went on the operating table on 12 March (which happened to be Goofy's death anniversary), came home that same evening to recuperate. The next day she was back to her normal self; with good appetite for food and was up and about. Her operation left her left eye exposed, as the skin had to be cut off. She was examined by the vet on 15 March and her progress was satisfactory.
Alas on 17 March 2010, around 8.10pm she was seen in the car porch, unable to walk and shrieking and gasping. She was rushed to the emergency clinic where the vet who operated on her came back to see her. Snowy was not her usual self. She was suffering and in pain. She was crying out intermittently. The vet surmised that she might not be herself anymore as the cancer could have gone into the brain. I thought: how could that be so when it was only five days after the operation? The decision had to be made to give her the final injection so that she could move on peacefully to Heaven. Farewell dearest Snowy...we'll all miss you dearly and remember you always. We are so sorry that you had to leave us in this way but we know we had to let you go if only to make it less painful for you.
The vet injected into her right leg; she cried softly and within seconds Snowy has left us forever. Bye Snow, Snow, bye...
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