Rest In Peace, Beloved

Princely Comfort Perry was born May 19, 1996 and passed from this earth Friday September 15, 2006. He was much loved by Lyn, Mike, Dennis, Linda, Beth, Tim, Cassie, Meg, and Duke. Transitional cell carcinoma in his bladder took him far too short of his expected 14-year lifespan, having just months previously survived surgery to remove two malignant melanomas on his face.

He loved to stand in the front yard and face into the wind, sniffing the breeze and feeling it wave through his hair. He loved his chill-o bed, his personal box fan, and laying on the A/C vents to suck up all the cold air. Prince loved winter and fresh snow. He liked to bury his face in the snow and rub it around, he liked to hop around in the snow and lick up big chunks of snowball.

He loved liver-flavored multivitamins, greenies treats, and twisted rawhide chews. He liked walks and chasing his cousins as they fetched a toy up and down the hill. He didn’t much like to fetch things himself … he would bring a toy about six times before just leaving it where it was thrown. His favorite game was “break my neck” where you must vigorously shake a toy or rope that he was biting…this game would elicit much fun growling and he wanted to play even after his teeth would start bleeding. Prince could sit, stay, lay down, beg, and shake paws.

Prince, like all Shelties, loved food. Most especially human food. He was often offended that he was served dry dog food while we dined on delicious other things. He was our pre-dishwasher rinse for most plates. He would trip you up in the kitchen while watching closely to see if you dropped any tidbits. He loved to knock over trash cans to search for used Kleenex. We knew it was the end when he no longer wanted to eat the wet food that we bought when he stopped eating the dry food. He no longer wanted a greenie or a liver treat.

Most of all he simply loved to be “near” his people. He would lay on your feet to make sure you didn’t move without him knowing about it. If he was separated from his people for even a short time, he would begin to sing. Before he began getting old, he loved to sleep on the bed, in between your feet. Dennis had a special tummy rub for Prince that no one else could duplicate. Prince was a guardian extraordinaire, growling or barking at every distant thump, bump, or car door. You always knew he was in the room because he breathed loudly.

Prince was very smart, occasionally devious, and very loyal. His loving presence will be sorely missed for a long time to come.