Farewell Friend

Our beloved Azlan passed away December 23, 2006. We are sure that many of you remember or heard about our 135lb lap dog, Azlan. Azlan was a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and was one of our first “babies.” Before Lisa and I ever married – I told her that if she wanted to share life with me, it came with a canine or two. Given Lisa never had a dog, or any pets for that matter, she really didn’t know what she was getting into. Plus, she was so smitten by me, she would have agreed to anything ;-) (don’t tell her I said that) Lisa actually did most of the research on what kind of dog we would get – and as wedding present to each other (ok – more for me) we chose Azlan.

Azlan was a lot of fun. He really did think he was a lap dog and was very gentle for such a large beast. Swissys are breed as “working” dogs – originally they were breed to pull carts in the Swiss Mountains. We chose a Swissy due to their docile nature – they have a ferocious presence, but no bite. (just don’t let them step on your toe) I love big dogs, but did not want to take on the liability of some of the negative characteristics of some of the aggressive breeds. The only downside of the Swissy breed is there poor health record. Unfortunately we experienced that piece first hand.

Only months after Drew arrived in July of ’04 Azlan experienced his first epileptic seizure. Azlan eventually reached a comatose state and had to be loaded up with drugs. He eventually pulled through, but after heavy doses of medication he was never quite the same. A side effect of the medication was an unquenchable hunger – if we let him – he would have ate himself to death. He went from being afraid to step over a stick, to breaking out of the yard almost every day – just to rummage the neighbor’s trash. And the Gas! The Gas almost put us under. Other than the side effects, he actually did quite well. Until…

In February of ’05 Azlan experienced multiple consecutive seizures – only medication to knock him out, stopped him from seizing. He stayed like this to two days and then Lisa and I made the difficult decision to put him down. It was late Saturday night and we told the vet to remove him from the medication – if he continued to seize – they would put him down. On Sunday after church we called the vet, expecting him to be gone and to make finial arrangements. To our great surprise – the vet told us that Azlan was awake, alert and doing fine. We were amazed and went to pick him up. They gave him a new medical cocktail and that seamed to do the trick. Azlan continued to lead a “normal” life.

In deciding to leave for Bulgaria in the summer of ’05 we knew we had the difficult responsibility of placing Azlan, with all his medical needs, into capable and understanding hands. Who would take on such a daunting and ultimately fatal task? We prayed hard about it and God gave us the perfect answer in Kensey and Sarah Russell. Kensey and Sarah are a young couple in our church who had just moved into their first new house and were looking to get a “large” dog. They heard we were looking to place Azlan and to our surprise, Sarah had an epileptic dog when she was younger. So after knowing Azlan’s full medical condition they were still willing to take him.

Azlan became their baby very soon. In our household, after Drew arrived, Azlan when from being our baby – back to being a “dog.” With Sarah and Kensey – he was the center of attention once again. I truly believe that Sarah and Kensey added many more months to his life.

Azlan lived the rest of his days seizure free. Due to his epilepsy he was on very potent medication – over time they took their effects on his internal organs. Azlan died in his sleep at Sarah and Kensey's parent’s home – peacefully – no seizures. We don’t know for sure, but we assume his organs finally gave out. Azlan lived a full life and escaped death many times (did I tell you he ate a whole box of rat poison once!). He was loved by many and will be fondly remembered.

So – do dogs go to heaven?

I think so… and maybe I’ll get to pet that big o’l fat head again someday.

Farewell friend.