It is with extreme sadness that I report little Stevie crossed the Rainbow Bridge this morning.

Over the past couple of weeks, we had noted an increase in her running in circles behavior. In addition, one of her eyes appeared to have developed a cataract, making her completely blind in that eye, which would have certainly caused her more distress. She was bumping into things she had previously navigated easily more and more often.

We recalled that when we took Stevie to see the canine ophthalmologist, the doctor said there was nothing structurally or physically wrong with her eyes. The most likely explanation for her being born blind was a virus contracted while in-vitro. The doctor also said that we would probably never know the full extent of the damage the virus might have caused.

We can't know for sure what precisely caused her untimely departure, but she was running around in counter-clockwise circles again this morning and bumped hard into the door frame. She fell over and did not wake back up.

Needless to say, Megan and I, along with everyone who ever met her through the internet or in real life, are devastated by this loss. She brought so much joy into so many people's lives just by beating the odds. She was the poster child for determination and making the best of the hand [paw?] she was dealt.

To put it in my friend Katherine's words, Stevie was Epic. When we write the book - and I'm pretty sure there will be a book - it may very well be titled "The Legend of Stevie".

RIP, Stevie. You will be missed. We love you.

I can't believe 2010 is nearly over and I have't blogged ONCE about Stevie! Rest assured she is as freakin' cute and funny and DINKY as ever.

I'm giving info to Megan so she can post and I actually DO have new photos to post later on.

BTW, Stevie is officially FOUR YEARS OLD - really hard to believe.

Expect new blog posts soon...

G

My boy dog, Newt, recently got fitted with new belly bands to keep him from peeing on stuff in the house while we're gone. I think he's rather chagrined - he hates to wear anything - but Stevie was intrigued. She had to be right there when he put it on and sniff around for a bit.

I am still undecided as to whether she is *more* curious because of her extremely poor eyesight , or if she's "just a Min Pin". Anyone with a Min Pin knows they'll put any cat to shame when it comes to curiosity.

More new pix in the Gallery.

Cheers, G

I know Megan is worried about Stevie being over here, but she can take care of herself, I assure you.

In fact, not only does she not take any guff from my 3 pinheads, she actually instigates trouble. She will wander around and find where one of the other dogs is and then she'll start growling at them.

It's pretty funny. My three (Li'l Darlin', 12; Newton, 8; and Dakota Mae, 10-ish) do their best to be tolerant (see new pix in "Gallery"), but in true puppy form, she just can't leave well enough alone. The "big" dogs get reprimanded for grousing at her, but I find I'm having to correct Stevie as much as any of them! Once she finds where one of them is sleeping, she just *has* to pester them. It's so hard to be serious about telling a 4.9 lb dog she has to leave the 16.5 lb dog alone...

Being that I've been in Min Pin rescue for going on 5 years and that I've had my own Min Pins for more than 16 years, it was always a given that I would babysit Stevie any time Megan needed me to, for whatever reason. You have to understand, though, that Megan is pretty much a hermit. If she could somehow figure out how to live in a cave, trust me, she'd never come out. So, barring any freak accidents or debilitating illnesses, I pretty much figured I'd never really have to worry about it.

But a funny thing happened earlier this year. Somehow, Megan got it into her head that she *had* to go to a Pittsburgh Steelers football game. She's never been to a pro football game, and is a rabid Steelers fan. Hey, it takes all kinds.

My phone rang.
Me: Hello?
Megan: Hey, I wanna go to a Steelers game this year.
Me: Ooookay. Let's look at their schedule, just for the heck of it.
Megan: They're playing the Denver Broncos on November 9. (Our brother lives in Denver.) I could go to the Wild Animal Sanctuary on the same trip and take photos of the big cats and stuff. The tickets are expensive, though, and I hate to fly.
Me: Ooookay. Let's see what we can figure out...

Thereafter began a frenzied search for game tickets. Keep in mind Invesco Field has been sold out for years in advance, the Broncos (at that time) had not lost a game, AND it was a Monday night game. But where there's a will - and a little shove from big sister - there's a way. Plane tickets were purchased, I got an "in" with a ticket guy and Friday, November 6, I picked up Megan and Stevie. I dropped Megan off at the airport, and Stevie and I drove home to Horseshoe Bay.

We stopped first at the vet's office to have her nails trimmed. She really does seem to have about 27 legs when you're trying to do that all on your own, and even though she still doesn't weigh 5 lbs (4.9 lbs according to my vet's scale, but the collar probably weighs half a pound by itself), it's WAY worth the $9 to have someone else do it. She charmed the britches off the staff - no one could believe she's three years old and full grown. She gets that a lot.

Then it was off to the office - more charming (less actual work), meeting lots of new people and lots of new socks to lick.

Home to the house to meet my three. We went out into the dog yard to sniff, pee and generally socialize in a purely canine way.

I'm delighted to say that she has adjusted to our house and our dogs extremely well. In fact, it's freakin' amazing. She can "see" just enough to know not to bump into too much stuff, she knows a food dish when she hears one, and she doesn't take any gruff off my dogs - if they grouse at her, she grouses right back,
which is actually pretty hilarious.

Please check out the GALLERY (click on blue link to your right) for pix of her with my pack. I've tried to get some shots of her near my dogs so you can get an idea of how truly tiny a 5 lb dog is. For reference, Darlin' is 12.5 lbs, Newton is 16.5 lbs, and Dakota is 17 lbs (still working on getting that extra weight off from Mike feeding them all the time).

Enjoy the photos - I'll update again before she goes home. She'll be here until I pick Megan up at the airport on Tuesday evening...

P. S. - She is a very restless sleeper. I'm going to investigate a nap very soon.