Yuri came to me in 2003 as an owner surrender. The family was in a transitional stage, the son spreading his wings, the adults retiring to a condo in south Florida, and they cared enough to wanted to make sure Yuri had the kind of life he was used to... Family, house with a yard, the spotlight in someones world. He was well-loved, (got a pig ear every day - much to the detriment of his waist-line!) and came with his favorite soccer ball that he carried everywhere. They did what they thought best for Yuri. Every dog should be so lucky.
I did not judge, i was in a position to support, and so i did. His mom cried buckets when she left, and she and I remained in contact throughout his lifetime - something i never did with owner surrenders, and a fact that would play a major part in Yuri's life. Who knew?!
Yuri was, quite honestly, the biggest siberian I have ever seen. He towered over 21.5" Lava by easily 6-7 inches. For all his size, Yuri was a gentle giant and was big in all the ways that counted in a dog as well. In spirit. In heart. In gentleness and kindness. He quickly stole my heart and almost became my only foster failure, which would've been A-ok with me.
Yuri stayed with me for a year before I found the right family for him. He deserved to be someones universe, and I had more sibes to save - and it was not without tears that I let him go to a young couple who were local, and they adored him. They drove him 45 minutes for check ups to my vet because I said he's the best in Memphis, he went monthly to them for grooming, and he got daily walks downtown. They had an aggressive tumor removed from his thigh during this time as well. A few years later they moved to DC and had a baby, and Yuri was having difficulty dealing with a small apartment and a toddler as a senior with arthritis.
Laurie S., a fellow rescuer in siberians, was Yuri's other angel in life, and stepped in and immediately took possession of Yuri for his safety. What she didn't know was that he would quickly take possession of her heart, too. She and husband, Brian, both also almost became foster failures. They took care of Yuri for several months while plans were made.
Because it was the right thing to do, I contacted Yuri's original owner to let her know of Yuri's situation and Marilyn began making plans. She flew to DC, rented a car and brought her 12 year old boy home to south Florida. Meanwhile that young son who'd spread his wings sold his condo and, during the biggest crash of the millennium, bought a house with a big Yuri-sized yard (even tho Yuri got 2x daily walks!) and Marilyn again made a road trip and delivered Yuri to Kyle in Seattle.
Kyle spoiled Yuri as we all wish our seniors were spoiled and he made up for lost time in every way. He cooked chicken for Yuri every day. He took him on the walks he demanded. Yuri was the center of Kyle's world, and Kyle the center of his.
Yuri surprised everyone by his resilience. At 12, the vet said he wouldn't make it to 13... On her next visit to Seattle, Marilyn tied ballons to Yuri's collar and they waltzed into that vet's office. He was 13.5 and nowhere near ready to go.
After her visit to Kyle and Yuri this past trip, she contacted me about a growth on Yuri's hip - the tumor had returned. At 15 years young and after some specialists and some thought, they decided not to operate, but the growth was fast growing and, as it turned out, Kyle wasn't quite ready to give up on Yuri. On 9/2/10 he took Yuri in for that operation, to give him a chance. He knew Yuri might not make it, but he was at the point that to do nothing at all was no longer an option. With limited choices, neither very good, Kyle made the decision to give him a chance, and they tried.
Yuri, however, had had enough, and slipped gracefully into his giant silver harness, and went peacefully across the bridge while on the table, just a literal 2 months shy of 16. I know Willow was waiting to play, happy to see him again, and I've no doubt that Yuri will be a very busy boy greeting all of the people who loved him here on earth, when their times come.
Yuri
11/1/95 - 9/02/10
Love always from your team.
[Originally published 9/2/10]
4 comments:
There needs to be a "like" button. This put a knot in my throat. Sweet boy.
As it turned out, Yuri was very closely related to my girl, Sixx. She will be 15 in November if she makes it that long. She, too, is a biiiig Siberian. There is a lot more to Yuri's story. I got him back because Laurie also does Siberian rescue and an adopter of one of her dogs contacted her and asked her if her rescue group could help a senior sibe that was being offered "free to good home" on his company intranet. So much for adoption contracts!!! It's also why I am vigilant with dogs throughout their lifetime. She recognized Yuri as one of my dogs and she contacted me immediately. Mind you, she lives on the east coast and had never met him, she just remembered him from when I got him. Laurie is Yuri's real angel. She went and got him out of that house ASAP. We found out he had been offered free on Craigslist too. For a year they had tried to give our boy away.
We stopped by to paw our respects, soft husky wooooos,
RA, Isis & Nanük
Thank woo RA, Isis and Nanük! Come any time.
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