Keyser Passes

Moving to Vegas -- April 12, 2011

It’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that today, I lost my dear friend and companion of 16 years 5 months and 8 days.

My little sister called me in December of 2001 and asked, “Did you ever get that Vizsla?” Next thing I knew, I was searching the pets section of the Dallas Morning News for Hungarian Vizlsa pups. I found one in Athens, TX and my sister came up to Plano from DeSoto and we made the drive down to Athens to “look at them”. When we arrived, I threw a few dimes in an Altoids container and took it with me into the pen. I held out the tin among the five puppies and gave it a very loud and sustained shake, then threw it to the ground. Three of the puppies recoiled in fear. One ran to momma and a 4^th one did nothing, but darting across the pen to see what the racket was all about was this lone pup. He ran over and stuck his nose right into it and started smelling what all the noise was. I took that one.

Born October 31, 2001, Keyser was a great friend and companion. He’d greet me at the door and accompany me to the bathroom until his later years – and I guess that only stopped because he started feeling like I was finally able to go by myself. Loyal and obedient for as long as his body would allow him to be, he was always there for me. He moved with me from an apartment in Plano to a house in McKinney and then again to a friend’s house in Plano in preparation for the big move to Las Vegas and he rode shotgun all the way from Plano to Las Vegas, NV. He was with me through my failed attempt at a career playing poker and was always a beacon of light after every session regardless of outcome. He was the world’s worst guard dog, greeting everyone and anyone with a wagging tail and lots of licks. He loved kids and was always drawn to them when one would appear in a dog park or on a walk – maybe it’s because he knew they were always good for a petting.

Recently, he started having more and more trouble standing up, he couldn’t chase the laser anymore and didn’t run around sniffing everything like he used to.  Growths appeared on his side that were getting tender, so we went to the vet and decided it was time. He had an amazingly good and long run – six-thousand three days to be exact.

Good-bye my friend. I will miss you dearly.