Our dog’s name was Apache. We adopted him in August 1st, 2004. We were at PetSmart and we were looking at an abused Rottweiler from another county Humane society and they would not adopt to us because we did not have a fenced in yard but lucky for us there was another humane society there tucked away in the back. There we met a nice lady who introduced us to Apache, a nine month old Siberian Husky. He was a bit underweight but full of life. We fell in love with him instantly. That first night we had him he was so exhausted from the days events that he fell asleep as soon as we got back to our apartment so we decided to go take a dip in the pool quick.

Well when we got back we came to an apartment tore up and in shambles with that Husky sitting in the middle of the room just staring and wagging his tale. We knew from that day we had our hands full, but loved every minute of it. When we had our son Sebastian, Apache was instantly attached to him. He became his second “Dad” always protecting him and if he did not know a person well enough he would not let them too near to Sebastian without them knowing his disapproval. They became two of the same usually not too far from each other always playing together. He pasted away this last February from a nasty fungal disease called Blastomycosis after fighting it for three months. I was giving Sebastian a bath when I heard our other dogs wimper and run to the bedroom. I got up knowing that Apache was towards the end and met him coming around the corner, collasping with each step. He finally was giving up the fight but wanted to say goodbye to his best friend. I got my son out of the tub and had him in his towel as my wife and I said our goodbyes. Sebastian was just over a year at this time and knew something was wrong but not really knowing what. It was his turn to say goodbye as Apache was on his last breaths.

I set him down next to Apache’s head and Sebastian just patted Apache’s head. As he set his head on Apache’s and closed his eyes, smiled, and said “Patchy”, Apache smiled and took his last breathe. That sight is still alive in my mind and tears me apart every time I think about it since that was not just my son’s first dog but mine as well. But the funny thing is that one of our other dogs, Dacotah, now acts just like our wild Apache and he and Sebastian are best of friends just as Apache and Sebastian was. Before Apache’s passing, Dacotah was never like that. Maybe Apache still lives on…..or at least part of him.
I WISH I COULD PUT A PIC BUT IT WONT LET ME!!

Sarah from ND