We recently lost our "Dixie". She was five years old and the most loving creature God ever made. All she wanted out of life was to sit with me. She weighed right at ten pounds and sat with me on my chair with her head up on the arm so she could breath better. Being a Maltese she had trouble breathing sometimes.

We took her to the vet to have her teeth cleaned because she had some gum problems. They required all sorts of shots to allow her into their clinic plus a rabies shot. The load of the shot was too much for her and she died. I have some ill will toward them because they could have spaced out the shots, but they didn't. They have to increase their profit, I understand, but did they have to kill my dog in the process. So do I put a bumper sticker on my car that says, "Banfield Killed My Dog"? I don't know. I'll try to get over it. Until then I keep in mind that the vet office is a small example of a bureaucracy gone amuck. Useless people, doing useless work, for exorbitent prices which we put up with.

This has hit me harder than anything I can remember. I think because she was young and innocent. It has been harder for me to take than many worse things I have been through in my life.

The next photo shows our other dog who weighs all of six pounds. She misses Dixie. She looks around the house, but can't understand where she is.

The other photo is of the dogs on a trip with us.