Pancho – the throwback Pomeranian – has moved on in his journey. He was very, very special. The kind of special that results in a gut-wrenching reaction to his absence. He leaves behind a huge void. Silence is supposed to be golden, but this current silence is a tortuous reminder.

Pancho had a good life. He reached age 14 (Pomeranian lifespan: 12-15 yrs.) If you go by the old maxim “one year for a dog is equal to seven for a human” he was 98! He was exceptionally healthy most of his life, exceptionally active and an absolute circus dog. He loved (or at least was super-tolerant of) being held high in the air in a reclining position on his back, and being spun in circles. Another attribute: although his shedding of that luxurious coat was definitely hard on the vacuum, he never smelled like a dog (except for the doggie breath of course). Time marches on, and his health rapidly declined these final two years. He went totally blind, partially deaf and kidney disease had begun to sap his strength. Despite everything, he never complained, and never cursed his plight. He was just a good dog. The blindness was a remarkable challenge. A rationalizing human would think life would not be worth living for a blind dog, but Pancho was completely undeterred, surging forth on walks in the park, and even continued to be excited about car rides until the final few weeks.

The video editor is not functioning currently, but for now we can salute his departure with a few still images. Pancho’s energy transcends even a frozen snapshot in time.

Goodbye Pancho. I hope you will be restored to your full vigor, and run with your Mommy and litter mates in doggie Nirvana forever. Some narrow-minded folks might say there are no dogs in Heaven. Will Rogers is supposed to have said “If there are no dogs in Heaven, when I die I want to go where they went.”

What he said.

This link should take you to an old post featuring Pancho in full character:

Snow Dog