Piper 2009 - 2022

A couple of weeks ago, we had to say goodbye to Corinne's rat terrier mix, Piper (aka "Barking Barker," "Pooping Pooper," "Ridicu-dog," "Cheesehound," "Sentient Tripping Hazard," etc.).

She was not the world's healthiest animal to begin with, and as she grew older Piper began to struggle with issues such as arthritis and intestinal infections. Over the past few months she really began to deteriorate; her back legs were giving out from beneath her, she was losing control of her bowels and she was beginning to show signs of dementia. While we were in Italy her condition took a turn for the worse and she could no longer walk. Once we returned, and after consulting with the vet where she was being boarded, Corinne made the difficult decision to end Piper's suffering.

Piper loved humans, but she didn't get along with other dogs. When we took her outside she would frequently snarl and growl at bulldogs and german shepherds that were three times her size. 

 

Piper was a member of the "Begging Bunch:" whenever we were in the kitchen, she, Black Cat and Little Girl would be in there with us looking for a handout. As mean as she was to larger dogs, she covered in fear of the cats.

Piper was truly ridiculous. She would try to fight dogs several times her size but was deathly afraid of my cats. When she was excited or wanted food, she would bounce up and down on her front paws or "tap dance" between them. But she was not graceful; in fact she was one of the clumsiest dogs I've ever met. 

She was a connoisseur of cheese as well as cat poop, but was very finicky about her normal food. If a little bit of puréed pumpkin wasn't mixed in with her normal dog food, she was rarely interested. But when she was truly hungry, she would eat so quickly that a mixture of dog food and pumpkin would become encrusted on the tip of her nose. 

Instead of going potty when we took her outside, she would spend her time leisurely sniffing every plant and blade of grass. She wasn't happy unless her doggy toys were strewn all over the apartment. And she liked to bark for no reason, as the video below indicates.

One of her favorite spots in our apartment was the balcony. When a beam of sunlight hit a spot on the balcony concrete, Piper would immediately lay out in it for a nap.

Piper liked to ensure that there was no cheese left on any of our dirty dishes before we ran the dishwasher. 

Piper was a rescue; Corinne adopted her when she was still a puppy. Piper was with Corinne when we met, and she didn't have to accept me as her "other" human. 

But she did. 

When the weather turned cold, Piper knew how to stay warm.

One of the last pictures I had of Piper on my phone was when we took her to visit my aunt Dorothy, shortly before her 100th birthday last summer.

It's been over two weeks since Piper passed, and we're still in a bit of pain. I haven't even been able to write about her passing until now. Losing a pet sucks.

With that said, Piper's bark will live forever, thanks to this video I strung together of her many random barking episodes:

Rest in peace, Ridicu-dog. We'll miss you.