I was looking into getting another Papillon as a companion for myself and my first Pap, Lexie. I found the papillon Rescue page and saw Digby. He seemed to fit what I was looking for so I contacted them and the adoption process began. Digby came to live with me in November of 2000. Digby brought with him his favorite toys. He had a pair of overstuffed moose slippers that he dearly loved. These slippers were his security blanket. He would take the slipper in his mouth, wrap his front paws around it, lay down and suck on the fur. He often went to sleep while sucking on his moose. :) He did not like anyone else playing with his moose.

He was a beautiful sable and white boy. He and Lexie got along from day one. Digby was not as trusting with me. He would growl and snap if he was touched in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most of the time it was a warning but sometimes he would back it up with a nip. Never anything serious though. I also have four cats and as it turned out, Digby hated cats. When he would see a cat, he would bark, the cat would run and then the chase was on! I kept him on a leash for a while in the house with me so he could see the cats and they could get used to each other. Digby and the cats finally reached a truce and as long as the cats did not run he would not chase. Peace at last!

Digby and I worked on trust issues. I began by just lightly and quickly stroking the areas he did not like touched. He began to learn that I was not going to hurt him and allowed me to touch more of his body. He eventually became very cuddly, loved to sit in your lap, lean against your chest and look up to your eyes. Digby was a little overweight so he was on a diet. He was very worried about food and would pace around the kitchen and beg for something to eat. Digby even loved veggies! He begged for carrots, green beans and broccoli. I was trying to keep the treats low calorie. I have never had a dog before that would eat veggies. He and Lexie played quite a bit and after about 6 months, he was at his goal weight and was no longer so obsessed with food.

Digby and I attended a T-touch workshop in August, 2001. T-touch was developed by Linda Tellington-Jones and involved therapeutic touch all over the body. We did obstacle courses and he put on a "superman cape" to help him feel more confident. He did such a good job and seemed so proud of himself. I think he really enjoyed himself. I live alone, or at least without other humans and I have entire conversations with my animals. They do a great job of listening, not much on talking back though, which is not always a bad thing! I don't think anyone had ever talked kindly to Digby before he was rescued. He finally started listening to me and doing the head tilt thing and trying to understand. He was always first to come sit on my lap and comfort me when I was feeling sad or lonely.

I have a large fenced yard and Digby loved to be outside and patrol the perimeter. His guarding did get him in trouble on several occasions. I live in the suburbs and have some wild animals that also live nearby. Digby cornered a possum under the deck one night, fortunately I got him inside before there was a fight. He also found a skunk and was sprayed, not pleasant for anyone! I now know how to get skunk smell out after a call to the emergency vet.

Digby got sick several days after the skunk attack. He was listless, vomiting and would not eat. The vet did lab work and found that his kidney functions were failing. There was concern over the possibility of poisoning since the onset of his illness was so sudden. The dogs are in the house except for bathroom breaks and I go out with them. They only stayed outside long enough to do their business. I checked the yard and did not find anything obvious that could have made Digby sick. I had not taken them anywhere so he could not have picked anything up "elsewhere". They are not in the garage except on their way to the yard and again, I am with them. We put him on IV fluids for 3 days. He was having trouble breathing and was very sick. We did lab work on the 3rd day, his "numbers" had actually gotten worse. The vet said with that much damage to the kidneys there was no hope of recovery. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge on November 1, 2001.

I had an autopsy performed because if there was poisoning, I needed to know so it would not happen again. The autopsy showed kidney damage and crystals that were consistent with antifreeze poisoning; however, these crystals can also form in a diseased kidney. His difficulty breathing was the result of hemorrhaging in the lungs. No explanation was given for this finding. My own vet did not know what could have been a cause for this as this would not be consistent with antifreeze poisoning. So, I still do not have all the answers I would have liked. None of my other animals got sick and I just can't think of how he could have come into contact with antifreeze. I miss him alot as does Lexie. I can't believe I did not even have him a year. He was doing so well and was finally beginning to trust again. He was a very loving dog despite what must have happened in his past.

I think he was happy during the last year of his life and knew he was loved. We all miss you sweet Digby.

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