The poor girl has been battling all sorts of health problems and has cheated death 5 times. This time she’s had enough.

Nugget is a very special dog. She is my first dog.

Growing up, having a dog was never an option as I lived in apartments and my [...]]]>

Nugget laying down

At 12:35 today, Nugget left us.

The poor girl has been battling all sorts of health problems and has cheated death 5 times. This time she’s had enough.

Nugget is a very special dog. She is my first dog.

Growing up, having a dog was never an option as I lived in apartments and my parents thought dogs were too high maintenance. We’ve had a cat for most of my life, but never a dog. I was allowed to play with the strays but just not bring them home. When I moved to the US in 2006, Emily introduced me to Nugget. She had wanted a Golden Retriever as a kid, but got Nugget instead.

In the beginning, Nugget was very standoffish. She didn’t like to be bothered, she enjoyed alone time, and didn’t mind company so long as you weren’t touching her. Of course, being all excited about adopting Nugget as my own, I simply smothered her with lots of touches, attention and food. We became pals after she realized I was the bearer of good things.

Nugget after bath

The whole family told me about Nugget’s intelligence. She would open the bread drawer, slide open the metal door in the drawer, pull out loaves of bread and have a feast. She would also jump straight up to 6′ like a pogo stick. She used to stalk birds in the yard and catch them mid take-off.

I witnessed a couple of new ones. She would stand on her hind legs and scope out the counter, then jump up and grab things that were too close to the edge. She loves chocolate and would open the pantry door to get bakers chocolate. That was a bad night for all of us.

The past 5 years has been fun. She has her nuances; she barks at 7am for days in a row. Above all, she’s a very precious dog and I’m glad to have known her. I only wish we had more time together. She lived to be 14ish — old for her breed.

Go chase the birds, Nugget. Have fun in the pastures of Heaven where birds never stop taking off and you’ll keep catching them mid-takeoff.