Goodbye, Champ.

Today is a sad day for me and my family. This morning my childhood dog, Champ, was put to sleep at the age of 12 1/2. We bought Champ when he was only a few weeks old. My brother and I had been begging for a dog for years and my parents finally thought it was the right time. I will never forget the day that they brought him home. They told us they were going grocery shopping and when they returned home they asked if we would come help to unload the groceries. When we walked to the back of the car there he was. A tiny puppy in what appeared to be a large box (actually the size of an orange box). He was shaking and scared. We immediately went to the pet store to pick out all of the things we would need. As we drove we battled about what we would call him. I can't remember all of the proposals but we finally decided upon Champ...or officially...Little Champ Chocka Boy.

Some of the things I will remember most about Champ are...

-For the first couple of weeks he wouldn't go on a walk like a normal dog. He was too scared. We would put his leash on him, pick him up and walk with him. Occasionally we would set him down to see if he needed to go to the bathroom or would be okay to walk next to us. Nope. All he wanted to do was be held.
-Champ squatted like a girl dog when going to the bathroom for the longest time! We were a little concerned...
-After quickly getting over the whole 'no walking on walks' thing, he broke about 3 leashes from pulling so hard. I can't tell you how many times that leash was ripped from my hand as he took off after a cat, child or plastic bottle lying in the road.
-The boards my dad had to put up when he was a puppy because he was so small he could fit between the house and his kennel.
-In order to get all of Champ's energy out my dad would take us to the end of our street (which was a very long road) and take off running as fast as he could. Champ would follow and Patrick or I would be holding the leash while strapped into our roller blades. We loved it! Once my mom found out that is what we were doing she put an end to it... :)
-Patrick and I giving Champ a bath in the front yard using my mom's shampoo
-Champ sneaking over to the elementary school to play with all of the kids during recess
-'Dancing' with Champ
-Looking for Champ time and time again when he would run away to go explore the neighborhood.
-Jumping on the tramp with Champ underneath us or watching him steal a green pepper from the garden.
-Him being smart enough to learn how to lift up the latch to his kennel gate.
-Dressing Champ up in clothes to take pictures of him with Patrick's missionary tag. (We sent those to Patrick on his mission)
-Long walks with Dad & Champ where we talked about everything.
-Trips to 'the hollow' where Champ sniffed everything in sight and played in the water.
-Being greeted every day after I walked home from elementary, got off the bus in jr. high, pulled in from high school...or when I came home from college.
-Running around with Aspen and playing together for hours.

We will miss you, Champ. But, we will also never forget all of the fun times we had with you and for the times that you brought us together as a family. Love, Hydee