Piper (2003 - 2015)

Piper was born on January 19th 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. The American Kennel Club calls her Piper XXXVII. Most people called her Piper the "hyper". To me, she is my one and only, my baby.

My story with Piper is quite interesting. Before I got her, I used to be very scared of dogs and of all animals. Maybe this was because many dogs aren't well behaved. They are not disciplined, they jump everywhere, they bark at everything, and they attack just about everyboby. Sadly, most people blame the dog for such behavior and fail to realize that dogs are just like children, a reflection of their parents who raise them and train them.

Then I met a friend that had a very sweet Dachshund. For the first time, there was a dog that was friendly to me and soon, I fell in love with him. I wanted to walk him, play with him, and feed him. Pretty soon, I wanted a dog of my own. After studying the various breeds, I decided that a Golden Retriever was the best breed for me. It's a large, playful, pretty, and very friendly dog.

After going to the Houston SPCA for almost six months without ever finding one (because Golden are such a popular breed), I decided that I might as well buy a registered dog. However, this particular breed is very expensive in Houston. I almost gave up on getting a dog altogether. But then I found out that Golden Retrievers sell for much cheaper in San Antonio, and that's where I found Piper. When I first got her, I could barely force myself to even get close to her. She was dirty and covered with fleas. But soon, I fell in love with her. Today, I can't imagine my life without her.

Unfortunately, in 2015, Piper started to feel lathargic. When I took her to the vet, the labs and test revealed that she had a cancer in her spleen. The vet said that because of her age, the surgery was too risky as Piper might not wake up from the anasthesia. However, on the good side, the cancer was localized to her spleen and had not spread, and consequently, if we operated and removed the spleen, Piper could live for several more years, without pain, whereas if we didn't operate, she would only have a few month to live and continue to be in pain. We decided to take our chances and have the surgery. The surgery was a success. Piper woke up from the anasthesia and she was cancer free. For the first time in months, she was eating, running, playing, being happy and seeming not in pain. I was so releived. However, this joy didn't last too long. Three days later, on Sunday 11/29/2015, Piper got a blood clot which caused her to pass away.