Rainbow Bridge Memorial

Dearly missed by his family

I adopted Poncho from GPI in February of 2006, he was fostered by Bob and Yumi Burnett. He had only been in his previous home a short while before coming to GPI. He was the perfect match for my military family. Lots of moves, and good with cats and other dogs. Poncho was always my sweet boy from day one. He was fearful of many things, yet, as long as I was with him, he would try anything—especially food! In May 2007, we moved to Wisconsin from Seattle and he took it all in stride, loving having a fenced in backyard to run around in. He didn’t like the snow much, but neither did I so we both bundled up in jackets and booties. He was there when we lost our German shepherd dog to breast cancer and when we adopted a goofy Doberman. Again-he was the cool customer. In March of 2013, I made the decision to uproot him and his furry brothers and sisters and move to sunny Florida. Which for him was full circle since he was originally adopted in FL. He LOVED the pool deck. When it wasn’t too hot he would lounge in total retirement mode by the pool. All this time, Poncho was healthy and happy. Never requiring more than a dental cleaning and annuals. In January of this year, we found out he was in the early stages of renal failure. Knowing it was terminal was hard enough, but modern medicine allowed him to live a normal happy life. Then, about a month ago, he started limping. His leg had swelled and went back to normal within a day or two. I thought it was a pulled muscle as he still liked to bolt around the yard occasionally. Then about two weeks ago, the same leg swelled but would not go down. A trip to the vet 2 days later and we received the horrible news. My poor baby had bone cancer. We put him on pain medications and it did help -or- I like to think it did, but Poncho is a true competitor at heart and did not want to give up. On Sunday he had enough. His pain was no longer manageable and he did not want to fight anymore. His body was giving up on him and he could not walk. I had to make the painful decision to set him free and he went peacefully in my arms Sunday afternoon 8/31/14. There will always be a hole in my heart for him. I miss him so much. Goodbye my sweet sweet boy. You taught me many things and I will never forget you.

Know that you are loved.  Love, Mom.