He came to us at 1 1/2, a scoundrel at light speed, our first black basenji. We had recently lost another generation and told Topper he was going to be "just a dog", I wasn't going to wrap my heart around this boy….yeah, right. We have loved Topper deeply for the last 13 1/2 years, and at 15 he was worn out. He had a bad spine, asthma and chronic bronchitis, and for the last 2 years congestive heart failure. He took a handful of meds twice a day like a champ, but yesterday he was OK in the morning, but when I came home he didn't greet me, then he walked into the living room when I was giving out 'treat balls" (pills) and would not take even a bite of good canned food. I got his pills in with raw ground beef, but later he would not even eat that and he wouldn't drink. He deteriorated visibly over 2 hours and we knew it was time. The vet met us and quickly, painlessly, Topper slipped away. He is a bright star in the sky tonight, free of his body that wore out long before his spirit did.
Topper has run wild on many beaches, roamed free on mountain tops, slept in my bed and had many adventures during our life together. I think he had a good life, I know my life is better for having shared it with Topper.
RIP my favorite heart dog
10/1/95-11/10/10
