Finn

It seems like yesterday when we all went to the breeder in Wiarton Ontario to pick up our new puppies. Two brothers, littermates, small bundles of fluff and energy. My daughter and my niece sat in the back of our suv with the two boys as we drove home.

A new puppy is always fun but two brothers playing together is remarkably joyous. Dancing bears was the best description of these two boys. It was fun as they grew figuring which one would get the upper hand in their wresting matches. My boy Theo was the smaller of the two yet more of the alpha. Finnegan, my sister-in-law’s was more sheepdog in that he was a tad larger, Finn definitely had the movie star looks of the two.

We raise loving dogs. There is just something about me that dogs seem to gravitate to and become calm as a result. Well maybe calm is not the best term, when the boys got together calm was the last thing on their minds. Play was all they could do. My boy loved to run and would steal whatever toy his brother had and would then run just a bit ahead of him. Finn never caught Theo. Once in a while they would get to a toy at the same time. The ensuing tug of war was always epic.

These two would go for hours.

Finn had a few quirks, which he has mostly grown out of. His biggest was a fear of stairs. His home in Oakville had hardwood stairs going up and down. He would not climb or defend them, ever. Once Chris, my nephew, carried him to the basement. He was very distraught and would not go near Chris for months after. A tough dog in some things, he was delicate in others.

At our house with his brother it was a different story. One evening I was dog sitting Finn and decided to watch a movie in the home theater in the basement rec room. I figured the boys would stay upstairs but shortly after I flipped the tv on I could hear the two stooges clambering down the stairs. Barking at each other the whole way down in their brotherly play mode.

Once down the stairs for the first time, Finn never had an issue at our house again. In fact while he would still not traverse the stair in his own house until just recently, if he was here in our home in Ridgeway, his favourite place to hang out was my daughters room in the basement. If we could not find him we would look there and for certain he was hanging out on her bed.

Cars were another thing that Finned not car for. Or better put driving in cars was an issue. When you finally got him into the car he would drool like a flowing river his anxiety was so great. But like so many things with Finn, if he was with me and his brother such things did not affect him.

One summer Irene decided we would all be at the cottage which did not allow dogs. So she rented a small cabin offsite and I was to bring all the dogs with me. That is four of them. Two little ones and two big ones. On the day I am driving up Irene figured I would have problems so she gave me a doggie valium for Finn. I can not remember if I gave it to him or not. Me and the dogs piled into the SUV and set off.

No issues with the drive, all four dogs were great. Then we got to Bracebridge, a small cottage town in Ontario’s Hamptons, Muskoka. I opened the roof and the windows as we drove through the town on a sleepy Saturday morning, and did the boys have a ball. Theo’s head out the sunroof and Finn’s out one of the windows, the both of them barking like mad. By this time they were both full grown and very fluffy as they were half sheepdog. The sight and sound of these two made for many an agog pedestrian on the streets of that small town that morning.

And upon arriving at the cottage everyone came out to meet us and play with the pooches, except Finn was no longer in the car. I was a bit perturbed until I saw him running up the drive after us, in full bark mode. Apparently he was not afraid to bail out the window of a moving car.

A great weekend was had by all with the dogs, my overnight was interesting as the little cabin only had a double bed. And by the end of the day all the dogs were exhausted and expected to also enjoy the comfort of the bed. That was me and two big dogs and two little dogs. When it was time to head home Finn begrudgingly went in the car with his family. He got in mine first but we eventually got him into Chris’ car where the river of drool started again.

Finn was actually Irene’s sons’ dog. They bought him and claimed him as their own. Irene did most of the raising and keeping and paying. I was the dogs second home. He was more comfortable with me than anyone, well maybe for Irene. Never an issue if he had to stay over, which happened many weeks of the year. And Irene always told the boys if something happened to her the dog was to come to my house. Finn and I bonded, there was just something about him that always stole my heart.

And now my heart is breaking for him. The poor boy had to go to the hospital last night as he was in mighty distress. The initial diagnosis is cardio-myopathy which certainly is something that I am all to knowledgeable about. My best hope is that they can stabilize him so he can come home and we can all say good bye. With what he has it is unfair to try and prolong his life with meds or diet. Any of these would require sedatives to also keep him calm.

Finn loves the park, running with his brother and his newest friend Weeza. The three have been playing like puppies since we got back from Florida with the puppy. But I think there will not be any more of that. I hope I am wrong but boy I sure do not think so.

The memories of the two brothers playing together will fill me with joy the rest of my life. The sadness I am feeling with Finn’s sickness and sooner than later Theo’s will pass and the gratitude of having these two souls in my life will be what is left. These two are the best.