Choco was an inheritance from my mother to my daughter when she passed away over two years ago. I was totally against the idea of a dog in the house but this was something that you just could not say no to. Choco was a small chocolate Chichuahua and just a couple years old. My cats took some adjusting to her but she didn’t really need any adjusting to us. She loved to sit on the back porch in the sun, sit in front of the fireplace, chase her toys and jump in my husband’s lap.

My daughter loved this dog. She was always happy to have company. She loved our neighbors and would just kiss them all over when they would visit. Everyone loved this dog. To watch her jump through the snow drifts was always a fun time.

That joy was brought to a halt on Monday, April 19. She was walking with me as she always does to take our bigger dogs out of the pen and saw a squirrel and started to chase it. Little did she or I know there were two dogs sitting in the brush. Now, let me preface this by saying it was on our property and we live in the country.

It really drives me crazy that just because you live in the country that your dogs should be allowed to just roam free and do whatever they feel like. A big black and brown shaggy dog and a golden coloreddog grabbed my very small dog, shook her for may be five second and in that five seconds wrecked our lives. They tore a four inch gash on her insides, damaged all her inner organs, tore her skin loose from her body, punctured her lung and broke her ribs. Choco went through a grueling surgery to repair damages.

She was in a lot of pain. They sent her home and my daughter and I took shifts staying up and petting her while she whined in pain. She went back to the hospital Friday night and Saturday night about 10 p.m. she took her last breath. We buried her under a beautiful flowering bush in our yard.

The reason to write this is to hopefully open the eyes of people who allow their dogs to roam free. There is still a leash law in the country. You can be fined up to $350 and if you injure another animal or human a very large bill. I hope that the owners of these dogs will fence their dogs or that someone who does not fence their dogs will and save another animal’s life, or a child.......

Please. I hope that our little dog’s death is not in vain and that at least one family will see a different perspective and have the decency to take control. Do not let the county sheriff knock on your door with the sad news that your dog has killed another pet or that someone has killed yours for it being on their property. Thank you. RIP, Choco.

News, Pages 12 on 05/05/2010