My little man was born 11 June 1989 on Terceria Island in the Azores.He was 1 of 6 puppies born to his mommie of 15 years old.I first saw him at a few days old and he was the runt and no one wanted him , I guess for the Portugese he was not working dog material.Well I chose him cause I loved him from first sight. He from that time on traveled with us for the next 13-1/2 years from The Azores to Washington State to Ohio to Washington State again. My husband is Military so we travel alot. Well he had to have surgery in 2001 for bladder stones and recovered very well then there after over the next year or so started forming a milky look to his eyes as older dogs do and also got little tumors on differnt parts of him. Well the time came and it was time for my hiusband to go to a new assignment from Washington State to Nebraska. Well all was well up to the time we wanted to get his teeth cleaned and tumors removed . We did not want added stress of blood work and all done to him so the Dr. did other tests and listened to his heart and found he had a murmur. Well she refused to do surgery unless he had all the tests and we agreed and found out he had an enlarged heart and was given heart medicine which made him seem like a new dog, he played with toys he had not touched in years.Well the Dr. said at that time she could do the surgery and all went well. He came thru with flying colors. Then moving time came on the 20th of Dec. 2002 and we had to put him in a kennel on the 21st. When he went to the kennel he was 31lbs. I had felt a longing for him the whole time he was there but to go see him would upset him if I left him again so I waited . Then on the 30th we went to pick him up and I noticed right away that he was way too thin. Well the next day was when we were starting our journey from Washington to Nebraska. He kept us up all night . He was sick and showing signs of another stone. Well we took him to the emergeny room the next morning and the tests showed lots of blood in the urine then we left there and went to his regular Dr. Well she ran tests and said he had a raging infection and showed 2 masses in his kidneys. Which she called calcium deposits that she could not promise he would be able to make the trip and years ago my husband and I promised each other we would never let him suffer if we came to this point. I could not bare the thoughts of him not by m side. I lived and breathed that dog he was always there for me . When my husband was sent away he was there for me his carried my tears in his fur. He knew all my secrets and fears, I felt safe when he was with me. Well we made the decision that was the hardest thing in my life I had to do. They took us to a room and closed the blinds and then brought him in and I swear I felt I could not breath because of what was about to happen and then they began the shot and my husband held him but he struggled too much and the Dr. had to give him something to relax . I could not bare being in that room when he became still so I asked the Dr. to please take him and let us walk away. I wanted to hold him but I also wanted to die myself. She promised he would not hurt and would just peacefully go to sleep. Well I felt like a mother that had just lost a child and I do not know how long I will go thru this grieving period. I sense him near meand I would do anything to have him again but never to see him hurt. He was my little man as I called him or "Piggy" cause he liked to gobble his treats but most of all he was the little boy I will never have and though life will go on it will never be the same. Thank you Pico for all your love. We will never forget you and will see you again on that Rainbow bridge. Love you with all our hearts. Mommie, Daddy and Alana xoxo