two years has gone by ......

above: Janine took this image of Oscar on 7th Oct 2006

memories of Oscar

our very special little boy

28 March 1998 - 23 May 2012


We lost a special friend today
the kind you can't replace,
and looking at his empty bed
We still can see his smiling face.

  We see the endless energy
the sparkling puppy eyes,
Not the tired, fragile friend
we had to bid goodbye.

  We know he's in a special place
our Lord has for such friends,
Where meadows, fields & flowers
help make them strong and whole again.

We will remember how he'd run to us
to play his favorite puppy game,
And how his ears would perk right up
When he heard us call his name.

But as those precious years went by
And we all aged and grew,
  we found him often slowing down
But we had still so much to do.

We have noticed in the recent times
His ears were not as sharp,
Where is that running ball of fur
The years have shown their mark.

He started sleeping next to us
Was this his special clue,
Because he felt the end was near
We certainly feel that it was very true

  Our Oscar was a special boy
  We know he gave his best,
But as we looked deep into his eyes
  we knew it was the time for him to rest.

It will truly be a struggle
  we don't know how we will face each day,
  we have to let him go - we know
But in our hearts he'll always stay.

This special place our Lord has made
Health and strength, wait for him there,
So with our very special friend
  we are sending all our prayers.

For we  know he's watching over us
and he'll be with us when we cry,
So with one more kiss on his beloved head
  we told our darling boy 

goodbye.

the above is very much the same I wrote out for Zac and also for Pokey.

above: when Oscar was just a tiny little puppy

 

Oscars brother – Pokey - was born in January 1997. 

Then in March 1998, along came Oscar. But sadly 5 days after he and his 3 siblings were born, their mother – Sugar - passed away.

Oscar was 55 grams in weight ....that is the weight of one medium sized egg!
 

These four little five day old puppies ......  what to do? Even the Vet said they would not survive.  

But with the love and care devoted upon them, they survived ... each and everyone of them.

Yes, Oscar is a fighter, his true name is Sugar Ray Robinson (one of the great boxers of all time [1921-1989]) and as with all four puppies, they were named after a famous 'fighter'.

In 2002 we took Oscar and Pokey on a 12 mths holiday traveling all over Australia.

above: in 2002, he used Pokey when he needed some extra height  to see outside the motorhome!

  

In 2005 he had an eye infection and had to have major surgery to have the lens replaced in his eye.

In 2007 both Pokey and Oscar flew to Singapore.

In 2009 he pulled one of his nails out when it caught in his collar, more surgery!

In 2011 Oscar lost his brother Pokey (7th July) and he grieved more than we thought was possible.

Two weeks later we took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with Pituitary Dependent Hyperadrenocorticism. (Cushings Disease) and a month later they found he also had Congestive Heart Failure.

He started off on his medication twice a day, but over the past month it was increased to three times a day. 

In December 2011 we applied for a permit for his re entry into Australia and this was declined due to his health and age.

We wrote a long letter to AQIS (Australian Quarantine) explaining a bit more about Oscar and that he was a fighter and that he would survive the flight, but could possibly struggle with the 30 days of Quarantine. But we were willing to take the risk as we felt he would be OK.

30 minutes later, we rec'd the permit and he was allowed to return to Australia!

He left Singapore on 21st February 2012 and arrived the following morning at the AQIS station in Spotswood where he stayed for the full 30 days.

above: running around while in Quarantine at Spotswood.

 

above: with John when he was in Quarantine

He was very happy to be back with us and settled in very well. We knew we wouldn't have him forever and the vet thought he might survive till mid April .... but we managed to have him for a full two months at home.

We brought him home to Ballan on 23 March 2012.

above: in April 2012 he got to go to Blackwood again where he used to chase lizards 

with his brother Pokey.

One of his favourite things to do was "get in the car". It was such a novelty for him to be able to travel around and he loved it. The minute we picked up the keys, he was waiting at the front door!

On Sunday (20 May 2012) he was chasing the Magpies outside, on Monday (21 May) he traveled with us in the car to Bendigo for the day. On Monday evening his breathing became erratic and through the course of the night we realised his time was coming to an end.

above: photo taken at 12 noon on 22 May 2012 (18 hours before he passed away) as he lay in the 

lounge room in the sunshine

On the Tuesday (22 May 2012)  he really struggled with his breathing, one minute hyperventilating and the next 'shallow breathing'. I was too selfish to take him to the vet after what we went though with Pokey, but at 3.15am the following morning while I was nursing him in the lounge ..... I knew we had no choice but to call the vet as soon as we got up.

We took him back to bed with us and we held him till he closed his eyes at 6:10am on 23rd May 2013.

Letting him go was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, unbearably difficult.

He was a special friend I will never forget. 

I know we were blessed to have had him for so long, possibly more than his fair share of life expectancy.

above: John took this photo - Tuesday 22 May 2012

Rest in Peace Oscar 

(Sugar Ray Robinson), 

you fought the good fight right till the end.

we all loved you so much

you were one very special little dog

there will never be another like you.


its now been two years since our little man left us 

and we can honestly say, we miss him every single day.
 

He did leave a huge hole in our hearts 

and life will never be the same again.
23 May 2014

.

.

 

OSCAR = March 13 2012

YouTube clip of Oscar - our Tenterfield Terrier - at the Quarantine Station today:


OSCAR - March 13 2012

Just to see him running around is a joy!!

Better still, its nice to know he has only 10 more days there. Due for release on March 23 2012, just one day before he turns 14.

one door closes another will open!

we are still here in Singapore sorting, packing and generally getting ready to repatriate to Australia .... and then on to Ballan.

We were very apprehensive about moving to a small town after the vibrancy of Singapore, but starting to come to terms with the move and just today we talked about the new adventures that await us ....

its a bit like as one door closes another will open!

There has been a lot involved in the move back to Australia, there is the sorting through all our belongings and arranging for a removalist to get everything shipped back.


We have a villa in Indonesia and there are quite a few things (including furniture) we need from there that has to be shipped to Singapore in time to be shipped to Melbourne with the rest of our things on February 21. But the hold up is on the Indonesian end .... so we wait and wait .... and wait some more, for they need to decide when this is going to happen. In the meantime we are getting a little stressed as each day goes by and the time is getting closer. We want some definite dates!

I have recently uploaded a blog post on packing - or more to the point - what not to pack on my other blog. You may care to read that posting here: Living in Singapore.

John has been extra busy getting his business up and running. With his deep appreciation of cultural diversity in Asia and Australia's changing role in the region, I can see his  business leaping ahead!

John Fabre and Associates is a boutique agency focused on how consumers and businesses can genuinely benefit from our changing world. I choose to work with associates in applying creative, communication and business management skills to align brand aspirations and consumer needs in an experience consumption driven world. We all bring different skill sets.
 

 

                                 Oscar

Oscar (our Tenterfield Terrier) now has his flight booked for February 20 and will be in Quarantine at the Spotswood Quarantine Station for one month.  This particular part of the move has been incredibly stressful for us both .... Oscar will be 14 years old in March and has a few health issues. The Australian Quarantine were not happy to allow his entry into Australia, citing his health issues on such a long flight. We have written to them explaining in great detail that even though he is old and has health problems, he is quite 'the fighter' and will survive the flight. We have agreed to a private vet assess him on arrival and accept all conditions they have placed on the permit that we now have.

We came to Singapore with two Tenterfield Terriers - our boys were brothers, they had the same parents - but Pokey died last July  we know that Oscar really has to go HOME and if we don't try, we will never know. We feel it is worth the risk, so long as he is not in any pain.


If you could see him running up and down the stairs here, there is no way he looks 'old'. The carer (from K9 Kennels) came today to bring the crate for Oscar to get used to. Even he was saying how healthy he looked and was playing with him. We are praying all will be well for him to travel home on February 20 and that he survives the following month in quarantine. We are allowed to visit him twice a week ... that is going to be hard on the three of us ... but lets hope that time goes by very quickly!!

Once he is out of there it will be party time ...... for it will be his 14th birthday!!

So yes .... we are packing and sorting getting ready for our move back to Australia and eventually to Ballan.  There is a lot of planning still to be done, but as one door closes another will open!  We have no idea what that open door will show us......

but we are ready for that next adventure!