Farewell, My Porcupine - Elise, the long-time pet Shi-Tzu of the Sui family, is dead. She was ten years old. Elsie had been ill for the last couple of weeks and died this past weekend at the Berkeley Animal Hospital. The vet had diagnosed her as having an infection of her uterus, and her death came rather suddenly to the Sui family. We were all saddened by her death, which triggered a flood of memories among the Sui family members.

I've only known Elsie for 4 of her 10 years, but I will always remember Elsie for her smiling face and the enthusiastic wag of her tail. Unbeknownst to the Sui's, I used to feed Elsie scraps of beef and pork under the Sui dinner table. This explains why Elsie would always come to me during family dinners. In appreciation, Elsie would sit on my lap as we watched TV after dinner. For her last Thanksgiving, I gave her hunks of prime rib and chicken. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would feed her.

On Friday night, I went over to the Sui house to pick up some food and Jenny's parents told me that Elsie was not eating and had become dehydrated. I volunteered to bring her to the pet clinic that night, but they said that Jenny's sister Wendy would bring her the next morning. The next day, I drove Wendy and Elsie to the clinic for what was supposed to be an overnight stay prior to possible surgery. That night, Wendy called us with the news that Elsie would have to be put to sleep. The infection had ravaged her digestive and reproductive system. The vet put her to sleep that night, but unfortunately none of us were there to see her before she died. I said a prayer for Elsie.

Here's to you Elsie, up in that big doghouse in the sky. We'll miss you.