A LADY FOR ALL SEASONS

Melodie spent her life doing what she loved most. Indeed, she was a "mommy dog" and she took her job very seriously. This little lady established her routine early on and added to it when necessary. To her very last day she never lost a beat. Her perceptions of what her tasks were continuously amazed us. Not so much the daily routine, but the added responsibilities she took on when she identified them all on her own.

Obedience was the framework for her life. She learned rapidly and never forgot it. What was so amazing was that I had to change some of those commands and then change them again and she adjusted to these changes without ever questioning me. She understood why they were being made and never rebelled. To this day I don't think I could have accomplished this with any of my other dogs.

Melodie was still a very young puppy when we discovered that Candi had thyroid cancer. It was quite a shock. Candi was immediately taken to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Hospital where she had surgery. We were so fortunate to have a great doctor who successfully removed all of her cancer and no further treatment was needed.

We brought Candi home to recover and Melodie immediately took over. She determined that Candi had to get back on her feet and needed to get her strength back. She went into her nursing mode. She watched after Candi day and night checking on her almost hourly at first. She made sure that Candi came to the kitchen for meals and made darn sure she ate. All through the day she determined when Candi had to go outside to potty. That meant that she had to get me too. She went out with Candi and brought her back in. I decided that Candi needed to exercise to bring her strength back up. Melodie decided when Candi should go for her walk. She would come and get me and stand there until I paid attention. Candi and I started out on very short walks and gradually worked our way up. Melodie checked her every day when we returned. Then it was Melodie's time to walk. It was a good thing I was working out of home because all of this took up the better part of my noon hour.

Candi recovered and as she got better, Melodie backed off and settled back into her daily routine. Then something happened. I do not know exactly when because it was so subtle, but Melodie started barking off and on. I became aware of it in the back of my mind but didn't give it much thought at first. Then it started to irritate me. At some point I stopped and paid attention with every barking session. There was a pattern but I sure couldn't figure it out. During this time Melodie had to go to the doctor. She was an allergy dog and required vet trips every so often. Candi started getting very upset when Melodie was taken to the car. She refused to be separated from Melodie so I started taking her to the clinic too. She calmed down and I didn't think any more of it. I cannot remember how I discovered that Candi had lost her hearing and that Melodie became her hearing dog. It was wonderful watching the two of them work things out together. Candi was one lucky dog to have Melodie as a companion.

The day came when we had to say goodbye to Candi. She had four years with us after her surgery. We asked the vet to come to the house as Candi was most comfortable here and felt safe with Melodie. It was a sad day for all of us. But after that, Melodie was so mad at the vet that she would have nothing to do with her. It took the two of them some time to become friends again.

Then one day a darling little male Golden puppy came into our lives. He was a real sweetheart that I named Chaucer. Melodie was no longer in her mourning period and she seemed delighted to see this little guy. She moved into her mommy mode again. It was wonderful to watch. She pretty much took Chaucie right out of my hands and began training him. Single handedly she house-trained him. She completely took over his life. He learned the right and wrong from her. I just sat there, day after day, with my mouth open every time she took matters into her own paws.

When summer came, she took Chaucie out to the back yard and taught him how to use the puppy pool, then she went up to the back steps and watched him. For some reason she no longer wanted to play in the pool as she had done with Candi. Chaucie loved the pool and the hose.

During Chaucie's life one could never tell whether he was afraid of her or loved her. Most of the time they had a fun life together, but there were times when Melodie seemed to disapprove of his behavior and let him know it. But he still loved her and showed it often.

Sadly, two days before Thanksgiving, we had to rush Melodie to the vet. It was time to say goodbye. This one hurt. She had just be into the vet for a complete physical exam that included everything from blood work, x-rays, and an ultrasound. She was pronounced well and healthy and ready to go on with running the house, us, and Chaucie. It was such a shock. She had been having some minor traumas and jerking, but nothing that worried the doctors. The only cause we decided was a brain tumor. By the way, she had lost her hearing and she relied on Chaucie to be her hearing dog. Our loss still hurt to this day.

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