Pandemic Week 158: Farewell to Storm (2005 - 2023)

May 2016

 It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to Storm on March 23.  He was suffering from arthritis and dementia, both of which had worsened significantly in the past month.  Storm spent the last 7 of his 17 years with us and quickly became an integral part of the family.

Storm joined us in May 2016 as a rescue.  Anna had lobbied her parents for years to get a dog and one of the criteria was that someone needed to be home during the day.  Joe met the criteria when he retired in March 2016.  As fate would have it, Anna's carpool mom worked with a rescue group and sent out a message looking for an emergency foster for a senior cockapoo whose owner had to go to a nursing home.  Theresa, who was never a dog person, thought getting an older dog would be good as he was already trained, so the family went to meet Storm.  At this point, Joe could see he was going to be outnumbered as Anna and Theresa immediately took to Storm.  Anna was having significant anxiety issues with traveling at the time and a deal was worked out in which if Anna could successfully take the 2-hour bus ride for a school field trip, Storm could stay.  Storm was waiting at the house when Anna returned from the field trip (a major milestone for Anna).

Storm was incredibly skittish and shy at first and spent most of the day hiding under beds.  He was terrified of flashlights and would wriggle out of his harness and runaway if someone was using one.  This was a challenge when walking him at night, which became a two-person job.  It was immediately clear that Storm was a ladies' dog, always gravitating towards the women and girls for the first pets.  As he got comfortable with his new surroundings, he went from hiding to joining in wherever his people were.  When Anna would have friends over, you could always find him in the middle of the girls, having targeted who was most likely to pet him.  He joined the family on road trips and was Anna's backseat companion (he was miffed when he didn't get to go along).  He was equally enthusiastic every day for his walks and mealtimes, often running in circles with excitement EVERY time.  He knew the schedule, including when Anna should be up to take him for a morning walk, when it was time to start dinner (he would get Joe) and when it was time to stop working to eat dinner (he would get Theresa). 

We learned many lessons from Storm along the way, including the following:

• Everyone should take a daily walk and enjoy smelling the flowers (or smelling everything if you are Storm).
• Meal routines are important, but sometimes you need a little treat with your food (Storm especially loved fish).
• Barbecue season is the best (Storm loved it when Joe grilled and would enthusiastically follow him back and forth).
• Dogs can have allergies (apparently hypoallergenic dogs are more prone) and can take Zyrtec.
• Trashcans should have lids.
• How to clean the carpet.
• Love unconditionally.
• Have a purpose.

The house is quiet without Storm here.  We miss him at our feet - either hanging out with Anna in her room or with Theresa when she teleworked or with Joe while he read the paper.  We miss the nightly family walks and meeting the other people walking the dogs (Storm had his dog friends).  In looking through photos, he was with Anna for many milestones (dance pictures, first day of school pictures, new haircut pictures, holidays...the list goes on). He joined our family at just the right time and quickly became our therapy dog.  During the past few months, we became his therapy people as he dealt with the challenges of aging.  He remained enthusiastic and loyal to his family until the end.  We miss him and thank Storm for his dedicated service to our family.