Revised July 8, 1999

It is with great sadness that I must announce that sweet Checkmate, pictured on the right, has left this world. He was a very special boy, the former winner of a highly competitive award given by Haldago Bay. He was chosen over many, many other dogs to win the "Snugglebum" award. I am proud to continue to display it, and I invite you to find out more about the award by clicking on it. It helped this special boy find his new home. Alas, his time there was all too brief.

Checkmate's story is best told in the words of his mother, who is grieving his loss. But she continues to make his life and memory meaningful. His mission continues, in part through his wonderful website. Please read on.

Checkmate: My "Throwaway" Dog

We found Checkmate on the Internet in February or March of 1998. I was doing research on nutrition for older dogs (my Cocker was then ten), and search engines being what they are, I found myself on Dr. Macys' "The Virtues of Older Dogs" page. Curious, I scrolled through all the pages. I had never realized you could find a pet on the Internet. I wasn't even looking for a second dog, but Checkmate's picture and story touched my heart. His family no longer wanted him. Their son had graduated from college and moved on. Imagine being "thrown away" at the age of 11!

Checkmate stayed on the CSAC's page for the next few months, and he even won Haldago Bay's "Snuggliest Critter" award in an attempt to cross-post him and get him placed. It worked! On June 28, 1998, Checkmate moved in with us.

We had a lot of adjustment problems. What I thought was a housebreaking adjustment issue turned out to be a bladder infection. "Minor" arthritis was really a defective knee joint. And in the process of diagnosing the bladder infection, the vet discovered imbalances in his urine that pointed toward either renal (kidney) disease or Cushings Disease. Further testing confirmed that it was the former. Checkmate's diet was changed to a low protein dry food, and he started taking medicines to help the arthritis and urine leakage. The turnaround was dramatic.

Welcoming Checkmate into our home was like welcoming a new family member. It didn't take him too long to adjust to our routines, and a second dog is NOT "double the work" by any means. We had chosen Checkmate because his bio stated that he had once been a child's dog, and we have a seven-year-old. Whenever we gathered on the floor to play checkers or a board game, Checkmate was right there with us, staking out his corner of the board or, at times, actually SITTING on the board. That is probably how/why he got his name.

Checkmate loved to retrieve tennis balls. One of his favorite activities was to chase the ball down the long hallway from dining room to master bedroom and bring it back for more. We had about nine tennis balls rolling around the house, and he would collect them all in the center of the living room and then lie down in the middle of them. Heaven help me if I wanted to put them away; he would COUNT them to make sure all were accounted for and not in the toy box.

We had to teach Checkmate that the car doesn't ALWAYS mean the vet or groomer's. It can mean visits to Grandma or the park or Petsmart for new treats. We took him to the Damascus Community Fair, and he brought home a red ribbon: he had the second shortest tail (beat out by a Corgi) at the pet show.

Around Thanksgiving, he quit eating. I took him back to the vet. He had dropped three pounds, 15% of his body weight. The vet gave me a "recipe" for a low protein diet that I could cook at home. Apparently the hamburger and rice mixture tasted pretty good because within two months, he gained back a pound an a half.

In June of 1999, Checkmate began to fail. His appetite diminished, and he rapidly dropped weight. Never a very "cuddly" dog, he began to ask to be held. His hearing also began to fail, and we had to start using a series of hand gestures to communicate. He still loved chasing his tennis balls, and often I had to call quits to the game because he was exhausting himself.

On June 15, 1999, with the help of an injection, Checkmate left us for the Rainbow Bridge. His overworked kidneys had finally given out. His suffering has stopped. He went peacefully in my arms, and I held his head as he went to sleep for the last time.

But Checkmate is far from gone. Checkmate's story and plight are so typical in today's society with its "throwaway" mentality. Because of Checkmate, I have become involved in canine rescue. That is the wonderful gift that he has given to me. In his name, through "his" website, Cocker Condo, and through volunteering with a local rescue group, Oldies But Goodies Cocker Rescue, I can and have helped to save the lives of other dogs in his same position. Checkmate has laid his burden down, but his work is far from done. Checkmate is now playing "tennis ball" with the angels.

Valerie Macys of CSAC, Debbie Reitz of Oldies But Goodies, Jude Fine of Senior Canine Rescue, myself, and the small army of rescue volunteers out there will continue to help society's throwaways.

Go with God, my baby, and thank you for the gift of rescue work you have given me.