Once upon a time... our dog Inti
Inti arrived in our family in the spring of 1997, he was 6 months old. At that time, Jeff lived by himself. He had found him at the SPCA and he already demonstrated outstanding intelligence. Tibia (his name at that time) had figured out how to open his cage! Magali, one of Jeff’s friends had suggested “Inti” as a name due to his wonderful energy... Inti is the Sun-God of the Incas and for us, Inti, he was our Sun-Dog. The first morning, Inti admired and licked his new master tenderly without knowing that this wonderful adventure would last 14 years.
Sonia came in his life in the summer of 1999 when she met Jeff. These 2 adopted each other rapidly despite the fact that in the beginning, Sonia had misgivings about letting a dog in her bed. But love was stronger, and after a few months, he won! She gave him permission!
Inti loved walks, meeting other dogs, chasing squirrels and especially Pappy’s goodies. He loved salad, apple cores, carrots, ice cream and just about anything edible. He learned to do all kinds of tricks... rolls, up on his back feet, dancing, staying still with food on his nose... On the other hand, he never got used to swimming in the ocean or river. When we went to Sept-Iles or at the St-Maurice River in Three Rivers, he barked non-stop if any of us was in the water and he never dared join us... His protective instinct was stronger than anything else.
Inti was vivacious, playful, very intelligent and loved to run after his tail. A border-Collie mix, he instinctively gathered sheep. If we walked in the woods, he would spend his time running from the first in line to the last back to the first, making sure that we were all there. He also liked to sing along with Jeff and his Saxophone. A memorable song!
And then our family got bigger with Ariane and Aliya’s arrivals. Inti adapted well to the coming of the girls: he put up with having his fur pulled once in a while. He was very patient and sweet with them: a really good dog.
Finally, after 14 years in our family, our Sun-Dog left us last night... His health condition had declined for 2 weeks. He ha a large mass behind one of his legs that had grown terribly with time and that ended up breaking open. Surgery would have been too risky: the mass was attached to the muscles. General anesthesia was a risk at his age (equivalent to 90 years old).
We decided to have him euthanized because despite his outstanding courage, he cried more and more and we felt that he was suffering.
We had dreams and signs that we were making the right decision. When Jeff and Sonia were talking on the phone, Jeff said euthanasia twice instead of anesthesia when discussing the possible surgery. A little girl saw a sign “no dogs admitted” and told Sonia that her dog was dead... And other signs... And Jeff had 2 dreams: the first where he saw Inti not getting better and loosing a lot of blood and the second one where he was calling the veterinarian to make an appointment for the euthanasia... Despite the fact that it was a difficult decision, we followed the circle of life and we let ourselves be guided by it.
With the girls, we had a celebration of his life. He ate pizza, ice cream, cake... We remembered the wonderful moments lived with him. We told him over and over all the love and gratitude we had for him... Heaven also participated in this celebration by sending a spring snow fall with beautiful large white snowflakes in this 25th of March 2011. He loved rolling in the snow and it seemed that this was sent just for him. The veterinarian, Dr Jean-Francois Belanger and his team at Lachapelle veterinary Hospital were very supportive and showed great empathy and respect. We thank them with all our hearts.
After Inti left us, we felt that he was freed. Freed from that old body. He will now continue on the road ahead of him, taking with him what we all take along beyond this life: the qualities and virtues that he developed along his road. As Aliya said: he will be transformed...
Thank you, Inti for these wonderful years, thank you for your faithfulness, your love and your greatness. You will always live on in our hearts...
Sonia, Jeff, Ariane and Aliya XXXX
Inti (1996-2011)