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The comments made here are in such poor taste, and considering what I just went through, I wish the pet owners' in the forum would re-think their comments.

I just came back a few days ago from visiting my relatives in Florida, and I had prepared for a stressful visit considering the health problems both my parents have, and some other general crappiness that is occuring in our lives.

It's always been challenging for me to travel since I got my dog, Fez the Papillon, because he sufferred from severe seperation anxiety from the day I got him as a pup. He was always at my side, and even the powerful drug I put him on (Clomicalm--doggy prozac) didn't completely eliminate the stress he would experience when I would leave.

Last month, he had to go off the drugs because they cause liver damage after a while, so he went back into "boot camp" mode with me; more intensive training and socialization excersises. I've consulted with vets, breeders, and other experts, and all agreed that he would get better over time, but he'd always remain a bit skittish and uncomfortable around other people. Well, you could have a dog with worse things, so I resigned myself to working through his problems.

Normally, when I would travel for a few days, I would leave my dog with my best friends that had two Maltese's, and three cats. Fez loved going there as he had other animals to play with and it help relieve the stress of my abscence. However, on this last trip I couldn't leave him with my friends as usual, because one of their dogs had fallen down some steps and was healing a back injury. The vet had advised them to isolate her, and not let her play with her mate or other dogs. Fez, being rambunctious, would have been jumping all over her and we didn't want to risk further injury, so he couldn't stay with them this time.

I gave serious thought about flying him down to Florida with me, but I don't know how well he'd fly, and my sister has a 6 year old son that would have "hounded" poor little Fez until he probably would have bit him out of fear. Plus, Fez could be a handful at times, so I decided to leave him at home, and get a little break for myself. Besides, this would give him a little time for him to bond better with my roommate, who even after almost a year, still was afraid to be around him alone (the dog---not the roommate).

Fez didn't like me not being around, and had a habit of "hiding" for a few days after I had left. I knew the first few days would be rough, but he'd be okay after awhile.

I talked to my roommate on Sunday evening the 23rd from Florida, and like I thought, the dog was fine and now hanging around with the roomate. They were bonding, and I was glad to hear that.

On Christmas Eve morning, I got a call from my best friend (who couldn't watch the dog) telling me that Fez had wandered away from the backyard, and was hit by a car and killed. My roomate had let him out in the backyard (as usual) for his morning "constitutional", and left him alone for a short time to answer a phone call. The back of the house is wooded, and the front of the house borders avery busy road, Hamburg Turnpike (those from Northern NJ know this road). To go from the back of the house to the front was a long trip, due to the way the house sits and some other obstacles that prevent access. The dog NEVER went around to the front of the house, as there's no grass or anything of interest for him there. But my roommate didn't remember something important that I had told him before I left:

"Be careful, he likes to wander and look for me when I'm not around..."

It didn't take much for Fez to slip away unnoticed. After my roommate got off the phone, he went to the deck and called him a few times, with no response (very unusual--Fez would always come when called, even by the roommate). My roommate thought that he might have went wandering, so he called my friend (who couldn't keep the dog this time) to ask for help looking for the dog. A familiar face would help coax a skittish dog out of hiding, he thought.

Well, my friend was just down the street on the cell phone, so he came right over and when he was driving down the street he thought he saw something on the side of the road. He stopped, and it was Fez, lying on a small strip of grass next to the road, accross the street from my house. He had obviously been placed there by someone. When I review the details of the incident, I've noted that there's huge gap of time in my roommates story of when he let the dog out, and when his body was discovered.

When I came home from Florida late last Friday, it was devastating to not have Fez here to greet me and, basically, pee on my leg with excitement. It's been six days since I've been home, and it's been difficult. About an hour ago, a nice woman from the Mt. Snow pet cemetary met me at home and delivered an urn with Fez's "cremains", a death certificate, a broken-heart pendant (one-half for the owner, the other half stays with the urn), and a beautiful color printed poem about a dog's afterlife. I've been lucky enough to not have anyone really close to me pass away (yet) but I now somewhat understand the meaning of "closure." I cannot even begin to understand what those who lose loved ones through accident, murder, or other unnatural circumstances experience, but it must be completely devastating.

I'm still very angry and bitter about the occurance. Although my roommate was crushed by this, and could barely look me in the eye when I first came home, I've told him it was an accident and that it wasn't his fault. But to myself, I am furious with him, and I am furious with myself for allowing this to happen. I should have known better. I blame myself. Fez would have been 2 years old on Jan. 5th, 2002.

My final thoughts are to those clamoring for tickets and jail time to "negligent" owners: Get A Life, and Show Some Heart

Sorry, I knew I had to write about this sometime, and this seemed to be the right time for me.

R.I.P. Buddy

R.I.P. Fez

I'm very sorry about your dog, Motzman. I truly am.

I'm sorry to hear that your tiny, yappy, neurotic little dog was killed. I'm glad to hear thay you loved him. Everyone should love their dog. Bill and Hillary did NOT love their dog. You won't convince anyone here they gave one sh*t for Buddy, let alone two. Prostelytize somewhere else.

The liberal forums are down the hall, on your right...they moved their forums over to the right side, in order to gain a more conservative appearance.

R.I.P Buddy...finally, you are somewhere you are appreciated.

I am very sorry about Fez, neighbor.... I'm on the other end of the spectrum, having buried nearly every human relative and friend I've had, but I can tell you the loss of a good dog- or other animal- can hurt and grieve you in ways that are hard to describe to those who don't understand.