Monday, March 7, 2011

Bijoux Passes



Today Bijoux de la Brume Oceane, our Bijoux, passed away. Actually, her life ended in our veterinarian's office after receiving a lethal shot. Some say she was put to sleep or crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, but no matter how one characterizes the process, her life ended.

As many readers of this post know from their own experience, and most dog owners will eventually know, the decision to end a pet's life is a terrible experience, and the owner is torn between hope, doubt, reality, and guilt. Nedda and I had to make the decision to put her down, and although difficult, the decision became clear this past week when it became obvious that her physical condition and her quality of life had deteriorated to the point that it was obvious that she no longer could hear or at least no longer responded to our voice or the sounds that guided her during the past 2 years after she lost her sight.

Bijoux came to us on July 12, 1997. She was the first puppy to leave the first litter born to, Annie D. Dumontier, a breeder in Quebec. We had decided to get a companion for Wendell, our westie, then about a year and a half old. Although we knew little about the breed, Coton de Tulear, Nedda had seen a puppy being carried by a woman at the Dutchess County Craft Fair some months before and was told the name of the breed. She researched for breeders on the Internet. At that time, the breed was almost unknown in the western hemisphere, and most breeders were in France. Bijoux's breeder was the daughter of a French breeder and had obtained the parents from her mother.


We chose Bijoux from a photograph of her as a very young pup.
Annie and her family brought her to our home in upstate New York, and it was clear that she wanted to check us out to ensure that we would be suitable parents for the first of her canine offspring. Bijoux immediately bonded with Wendell, and she joined us at my law office, frequently helping Nedda with word processing.


Bijoux required a lot of grooming, particularly since she could get quite messy living in the country.

However, after a lot of work, she cleaned up nicely.


Perhaps the most lasting effect of our almost 14 years with Bijoux is the many friendships that we gained when Nedda immersed herself into the Coton de Tulear community. She joined and also started chat lists with other owners and breeders, and that led to our having annual Coton parties at our New York home, and later at our Florida home. Guests came from all over the United States, Canada, and as far away as Puerto Rico and Germany. At our last New York party, we had 100 guests and 60 dogs.
The event was covered by local newspapers and television.

As an outgrowth of her involvement with the Coton community, Nedda joins a group of friends each fall at New Hope, Pennsylvania, where the ladies and their Cotons take over a bed and breakfast for a weekend of fun.

Although Bijoux has left us, her memory will remain with us.