Mikey (TJ Train Ride)
May 2012 - April 2019
Mikey was a wonderful gentle, loving, greyhound but very stinky. He had several allergies along with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) which made us his 4th foster home. But he was so sweet we had to adopt him (along with buying stock in “Febreze”).
Mikey also had very bad separation anxiety. If left alone for 5 min we would have diarrhea on the floor. Luckily Ted works from home, so with care, patience, an adjusted diet and systematic training we managed to get him less stinky, with less diarrhea and willing to hang out at home by himself. What did we get in return? The love and faithfulness that puts other dogs to shame.
Mikey was the archetypal sleeping greyhound, with a bed in every room he didn’t have to look far to find a soft spot in the house to sleep.
He was prodigious squeaker-destroyer and had little use for non-squeaking toys. This, of course, honed his varmint hunting skills. Alas, he had only one confirmed varmint kill, despite several catch-and-release encounters.
Despite his primal urges, his pallet was refined, preferring prime rib and bacon to kibble. He discovered that by sitting on his behind, he could upgrade from kibble to bacon. Well, that’s a no brainer!
The 3 of us were just starting to understand each other. By that, we mean that Mikey had nearly trained us. Then, on April 16, 2017, just 22 months after enriching our lives, he received a confirmed diagnosis of large cell lymphoma. His was an aggressive form of the cancer. He had an extremely poor prognosis, even with chemotherapy.
Who fared better in our all-too-short 2 years together? It is not even close. There is no bigger heart that a grey, and no greater grey than Mikey. Rest in peace, you stinky dog.
Mercy & Ted Chipman
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