Farewell to the last Swissy

Top center: Kosmo Alpert Manning.
Group shot: Grasel, Atlas, Lizzie & Kosmo in Yakima.
Bottom: Paigey.

We lost our old friend Kosmo yesterday. He was nearly 13 years old and had far exceeded his life expectancy (10 years for a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog). Kosmo hadn't eaten in three days, his breath was uremic, and his system was shutting down. The vet convinced us we would not want to prolong his suffering, so we decided to have her euthanize him. He is now buried between the barn and the house, in a beautiful spot where he loved to spend time.

Kosmo is the last of five Swissies we've known and loved over the past 13 years. We started with Grasel in 1996. She was Don's special buddy. We acquired her full brother and littermate, Atlas, about a year later. He was my special boy. Soon after, we met Gatsby and Kosmo, who eventually both came to live with us. In between was Paige, who was given to us by a local breeder because she didn't turn out to be show-quality.

At one point we had all five Swissies PLUS Teddy the legendary Rottweiler, all living in our small house in Yakima. We couldn't move around the house without stepping over or bumping into big dogs. It was crazy, but great.

The worst thing about dogs, of course, is that none of them last long enough. Teddy, age nine, died in 2002 of stomach cancer. Gatsby, age eight, died later that summer of spinal cancer. We lost Paigey, age seven, to a brain tumor in 2004. Grasel, age 10, left us in 2007. Atlas, age 11, died in 2008.

It's been 13 years of dog hair and loud barking, but that was outweighed by the unconditional love, loyalty, goofiness, and joy they brought to our lives. Our Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs lived wonderful lives, whether competing in agility and obedience, or just running wild until their tongues were dragging. They were all house dogs, and the only reason we didn't have five on the bed at one time was because they just plain didn't fit. We will miss their devotion and playfulness. We will miss running our hands through their thick, soft hair that always smelled "like a plush toy that's been sitting in a sunny window," as Don put it.

Our next dog will probably be a pointing Lab, so Don can finally have his hunting dog. And who knows, there may be a Swissy in our future some day too. Four of our five Swissies just landed in our laps, and it's possible there will be another coming our way. We're ready, just in case. We're well trained.