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Monday, July 26, 2010

A Tribute To: "The Great Carsoni"

 The Setting: Once upon a time, way back in 1992 (when Parental Unit was actually young), she had just lost her dear mother and was recently divorced-the perfect time to finally get the doggie of her childhood dreams-a Wire Fox Terrier.

The Inspiration: When Parental Unit was just a kid, her older sister Renee (that's my Aunt Renee the photographer) had a beautiful, Steiff Mohair hand puppet of a...you guessed it, Wire Fox Terrier! So from when she was a tot, Parental Unit wanted one of those adorable dogs (but only breathing and not stuffed). She now has custody of Renee's puppet and its baby:



                     Here's another picture...

                                And one more.

The Name: The baby Wire Fox was 8 weeks old and ready to pick up during the first week of May 1992, the same week that Johnny Carson retired. So she named the little pooch, Carson, to honor the man who made her laugh every night for almost 30 years (her mom let her stay up late and watch him when she was only six!).
So on a warm spring evening, Parental Unit and her good friend, Debra, made the four hour round trip to the breeder to pick up the little fella. Here's a picture from that night:

                              Cute as a button!


    Now here's a few pictures of Mr. Carson in his prime:
             Eating the flowers (Much more of that to come!)

Ready for his walk (notice the one ear up, the other down-no show dog was he!)

               A hike in the woods (we love this photo!)

                     Playing with his favorite rag toy

And in his later years, putting up with you know who! Yep, that's Bella, the same cat who tortures me today!

The Crazy Years: But...we're not through yet! The crazy stuff started when Carson turned 8, and Parental Unit had just decided to wing it for awhile and quite her full-time job. First, Carson had to have one knee replaced, then the next year, the other knee. Little did Parental Unit know that those were the really inexpensive surgeries!

Then over the next few years came the emergency stomach surgeries to remove:
_ a ball and other sundry stuff that the surgeon handed to Parental Unit in a large plastic bag;
_ one really large piece of mulch;
__ a beer bottle cap (with this one, the surgeons were taking bets on what kind of beer it was-can you guess?)
__ then another emergency visit when Carson dug into the handyman's bag and chewed on some sort of glue or cement that stuck his jaws together-his teeth were literally glued together-not kidding! The vet had to anesthetize him to scrape it off (they gave him a complimentary teeth cleaning while they were at it!)
Yep, I'm told that Carson swallowed everything that wasn't nailed down-and even some stuff that was!
(Needless to say, Parental Unit is relieved that I just grab and chew, but not swallow.)
In case you're wondering, these surgeries totalled $11,000-Parental Unit is still paying them off :-)

Despite these traumas, Carson was fine until a bit after his 16th birthday, when kidney failure finally claimed him. (For old times sake, Parental Unit coughed up another $1000 for a week of dialysis to make sure it wasn't just an infection that was causing his kidneys to fail.) The old boy went to the Rainbow Bridge on April 18, 2008. That morning he had a resurgence of strength-long enough to eat a whole banana (his favorite food treat) and a ton of biscuits.

We'll leave you with a picture of a card that Parental Unit received many years ago. She keeps it on her desk as a reminder of exactly who the problem really is...



May our dear Carson be running and playing and... eating many bananas over the Rainbow Bridge. We love him.

24 comments:

Bandit's Pack said...

What a wonderful sweet story. With all that was extracted from his tummy, Carson certainly had a flair for life ... and food. What a good long life Carson had, too. What you keep on your desk is pricess, and so true!!

Bocci said...

Thanks Bandit's Pack-so glad you enjoyed! And what a good way to put it, "a flair for life"! He really did.

Your buddy,
Bocci

Molly the Airedale said...

Carson sounds like he surely did keep your Parental Unit on their toes! What a cutie he was!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Agatha and Archie said...

Ohhhhhh this kid was the nuts!!!! We wish we could have known him. Archie has had some similar( although not as expensive) situations .... Gum, fire log, bag of brown sugar, pens pencils and notepads, books welllllvwe could go on and on.... He was a truly handsome lad.... Love A and A

Rachel Lauren Photography said...

I loved reading about Carson! He was adorable...and I can see how your Parental Unit has an affinity for scruffy dogs :)

Nelly said...

What a character! He certainly was a handsome boy and so long lived! despite all the ops (or may be because of them.)
Nibbles
nelly x

♥I am Holly♥ said...

What a sweetie! I know he is running free at the Rainbow Bridge! Lots oflove, Debbie and Holly

houndstooth said...

It sounds like Carson did a great job of getting your mom all ready for you! He did a lot of the hard work!

Bunny

Pup Fan said...

Aw, great post about Carson... so sweet!

Maggie Mae and Max said...

That was most fun to read about Carson, thank you for sharing his story with us.

Woofs and Licks,
Maggie MAe

Bocci said...

Great comments! We're so glad you enjoyed reading about Carson and seeing a few pics. Yep, Houndstooth, he did do a good job of preparing Parental Unit for me!
And Maggie and Mitch, he certainly did keep Parental Unit on her toes-really it was more like her knees, becasue she was always praying he'd make it through another surgery!

And Nellie-he was a handsome devil and very long-lived, despite everything. He never seemed to mind though, I'm a bit more sensitive, I think :-)

And Rachel-yep, PU always loved those "scruffy" doggies!

Your buddy,
Bocci

Mango the Maltese kiddo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mango the Maltese kiddo said...

This is a very touching and lovely only a very dear devoted Parental Unit could write about her furkid.
My angel brother Ringo the Maltese was born and passed the same year(1992-2008)with Carson but Ringo didn't eat ball, mulch or beer bottle cap, hehe!
I believe they have found each other in heaven and maybe Carson is coaching Ringo into eating some clouds, fairy wings, just kidding.
Cheers!

Bocci said...

I hope Ringo and Carson are together having fun, Mango!
Yor buddy,
Bocci

Yona said...

Love the pics of a pooch with a lot of personality! Im a new follower from Tuesday Tag-Along! Love if you'd stop by my website and become a blog friend - http://artpark78.com/blog1

Anonymous said...

Dear Bocci,
you have such a flair for describing your previous brother. I can tell he was much loved & I like reading about the family history.
Auggie

auggie said...

I meant to add, Bocci, that the hand puppet is pretty darned close to a stuffed plush toy, if ya know what I mean...
Yours in mischief,
Auggie

Bocci said...

Ha! Yes, Auggie, I went a bit crazy when Parental Unit took those Wires out of the closet (where she hides them!) for pictures-thought for sure it was a new toy for me!

Glad you enjoyed!
Your buddy,
Bocci

3 doxies said...

Oh Carson was such a beautiful terriorist.
I can't believes all he endured withs da surgies but, PU was definately good to him. It be's so hard to watch doggies go through dat stuffs and then da pawrents wondering hows they gonna affords it. He was done good by da PU fur sures.
I so glads you shared dis story. And I loves his pikturs.
Thanks fur droppping by to wish me''s a happy Birfday, I so appreciate it bud

Puddles

Bocci said...

Yes! What a great way to describe the dear boy! It was hard to get mad at him, Parental Unit says, because he was so darn cute!

And many more happy birthdays to ya, Puddles!

Your buddy,
Bocci

Inky and Molly said...

What a legend, the ole Carson. Never mind about them dollars although our pinkies can sing a song about medical bills too...
RIP

Bocci said...

You're right, Inky and Molly, those dollars are long gone, but Carson still lives in our hearts :-) "Singing the song" can still make Parental Unit feel a bit better, though... :-)

Your buddy,
Bocci

Bocci said...

Don't you all just love that card! With a Wire Fox on it too! I know where my friend got it, and if I find them again (it was in the 90's) I'll send all my new wirey friends one!

Your buddy,
Bocci

Michelle Liew said...

Carson sounds like he was a wonderful boy. Blessings and prayers!

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