Violet's Story (cont'd)

Violet has her own bed and kennel at work. She's let out every 3 to 4 hours and is allowed free roaming of our break room. She snores quite loudly and occassionally surprises folks with her volume. She comes with me on errands too when weather allows. She makes us laugh every day.

Because she's deaf, we taught her sign language commands, so she maintains eye contact with us almost constantly. Because of her bad eye, she'll cock her head when she looks at us and occassionally her upper lips gets stuck. She has old lady twitches that are quite comical too.

As I said previously, she can really snore. I've become accustomed to her snoring as background noise now. She knows when dinner time is. She gets a burst of energy, bounces around like a pogo stick, and does laps around the living room.

Violet hates closed doors. She always manages to find ways of opening them. She believes that whenever someone needs to use the restroom, what they really need is an opportunity to pet her. And she won't let you stop petting her until she's ready to move onto someone else.

She does have senior moments where she forgets where she is and what she's doing, so she's never left unaccompanied at home and she's always leashed when not at home.

She naps with us on weekends. Camps with us in the summer.

We cherish everyday we have with Violet. She makes us smile. She's a wonderful companion. We've only had her barely a year, but can't remember life before her and don't want to think of life without her. We know we have her on borrowed time and enjoy every moment we have her.

Would I adopt a geriatric Cavalier again? You bet your buttons. Would I recommend adopting a geriatric Cavalier? Again, you bet your buttons. They are gentle, loving, adaptable, creeky, arthritic, eccentric packages of joy. We may have her only a brief while, but she's given us a lifetime of joy and memories."

Tammy & Family