THE STORY OF DIOR, THE DOG WHO LIVED FOREVER!


A CHILDHOOD DREAM COME TRUE

He looked like a little angel, all tiny and fuzzy, wrapped in a warm blanket that we brought with us when we picked him up. He was the puppy from the toilet paper commercials and the Hallmark “Miss you” cards. He sat on my lap the entire ride home and somehow, despite having a driver’s license and a college degree, I felt like a ten-years old, wanting to tell anybody and everybody: ”We’ve got a dog! We’ve got a dog!”

 

FROM AN EMAIL TO A FRIEND, CIRCA 2002

Dior is two years old now and I cannot imagine my life without him. In these years, he used his charm, his patience and yes, his good looks to earn our hearts and our sofas. Sometimes I think that he is the most gentle and good-natured creature that I have ever met. He is never in a bad mood; he is always happy to see me. And when a friend of mine recently asked me if would “do it again,” the answer was: “In a heartbeat.”


MARCH 26 BEGAN LIKE ANY OTHER DAY.... 

It was Friday morning and my sister and I sat outside in our little patio, planning our day. We were working on starting MyPetChefs, a company that would offer a healthy alternative to commercial pet food. We have just received the final draft of our logo - a cocker spaniel and a chow chow wearing chefs' hats, sitting side by side. Looking at Prince and Dior playing together, my sister commented on how active Dior was for his age - after all, at 9 years he was technically a senior dog! Senior dog - ha! We are just getting started! Age is nothing, but a number - and a stupid number at that! And looking right into my baby's big brown eyes, I said: "You are going to be the first dog in the world to live forever!"



DISASTER STRUCK ON FRIDAY NIGHT... 

Dior suddenly became sick, really sick. An emergency surgery was performed the same night and that's when we heard for the first time the three awful words: ruptured liver cyst. The really scary part was no one could tell us why it happened or how we could have prevented it. In doctors' words, he was too young to develop any age-related ailments, he has always gotten his regular check-ups (last one was just two weeks before!), he was eating good food.... well, for the last two years, anyway. And that's when I knew in my heart that my baby was paying the price for all these early years when at dinnertime I, like so many others, would reach for a bag or open a can. And although the doctor who did his surgery told me that he could not pinpoint the exact cause of the cyst, he also said that it was possible that it was related to the kibbles. It's not a stretch to assume that ingesting parts of diseased animals, chemicals and rancid oil - bio-waste, really- could take a toll on a body even years after the cause is gone.

 

GOOD-BYE, ANGEL

Dior passed away early morning on March 28 leaving a huge void in our lives. We miss him more then words can say and our home will never be the same without him. But he inspired a new dream of ours: that one day every pet in the world would be getting healthy and nutritious food that would add years to their lives, not take them away. It’s a simple idea in a complicated world – we love our pets and we want to feed them good food! 

And if we all do our part to make this dream a reality, then Dior will truly be THE DOG WHO LIVED FOREVER.

 



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