Memories of Our Little Baci    

Baci came into our lives on June 30, 1995, at eight weeks old, weighing only 2 lbs. we actually purchased him for Lisa's 17th birthday. He was a surprise to her, we blindfolded her and held him directly in from of her and said Happy Birthday. She was in total shock seeing this little tiny white live puppy. I can't exactly remember her exact words, but she was afraid to hold him because of how little he was. However she became his caretaker, the first night he was in his cage and she slept on the floor of the family room, picking him up whenever he cried or wanted to be held. Of course when she was in school he began to attach himself to the rest of us.

One of the reasons we bought a Maltese is because I worked at Colonial Manor Animal Hospital and that breed caught my attention, small white and adorable. Joe being the animal lover that he is immediately loved Baci, always holding him and playing with him. He was Johns Sr's buddy, always following him around constantly, more so after his retirement 7 years ago. John Jr. always let him lay down in his room whenever he was upstairs, and of course I was the person who bathed him, groomed him and these last few months gave him a hair cut. Last few months we all had a hand feeding and holding and caring for him constantly.

Baci learned how to stand on his hind legs and spin around, sit and give you his paw for a Cheerio or whatever treat we might have offered him. Most of his life he ate Eucanuba dry food, until his later years when he started to eat Pedigree soft food because of his teeth. Recently he loved homemade turkey meatloaf and cooked carrots. Being a puppy John Sr. would take him in the yard, one day he decided to run away from John, and ran in the street where John picked him up and never let him be outside without a leash again. I remember when I was cleaning out the cabinets and he was very young he got hold of the baking chocolate, and as all of you know chocolate can be deadly for dogs, so we proceded to give him hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the little he ate. Baci was trained from a young age to go potty on his piddle pads in the utility room, so when it was very cold he didn't have to go out. His accidents were far and few in the 14 years he lived with us, he always knew wherer to go to do his business, even on his last days he would hobble into the room and take care of his business.

During his last years or so I believe he didn't hear that well, because we would come home and unless he saw us he would continue to sleep. In 2005 Baci developed an enlarged heart so he was on medicine for that, allergies, arthritis, a water pill, medicine to make him sleep because he would bark a lot, and a few other medications, you name it, he took it.

Last February, 2008, Baci developed kidney failure and the doctors asked to put him down. However I decided that I would try to help him and see if he could have some kind of normal life during this illness, so we proceded to give him fluids once a week. A shot to up his red blood cells and it worked for a while.  During this past year if he didn't drink I would give him water with a syringe and he took it, every hour 3-6 ounces, between John and I, we gave it to him. However he never really slept well at night. John Sr. has walked the floors with Baci for more than 2 years, I started to help this year with the night shift, if I knew it was this bad I certainly would have helped sooner. (God Bless my Husband) On March 19th into the 20th Baci had a really bad night up every 20 or 30 minutes, so I decided with the advice from our parish priest Fr. John, to do what I had been dreading for the past year, making a decision to let him go. We all managed to do whatever we all needed to do to spend time with him on his last day, giving him all the love we always gave him, and letting him know how very special he was to all of us.

To all the members of my family, John Sr., Joe, John Jr. & Lisa thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your care and love you all displayed to this wonderful animal. Also to Dr. Joe DeMoor, and Dr. David Ihrke, please accept our gratitude for all the treatment and care you gave to our Baci in his almost 14 years. I know that he left this world knowing he was truly loved. From the moment he arrived in 1995, to the moment he left this world in 2009, we all loved him with a love that could only be unconditional, just as he loved us. Thank you Baci for making our lives full, happy and wonderful for 14 years, and we'll always remember the joy you brought into our lives and will never forget how much this "Little White Angel" loved us all, as much as we loved him. May you rest in peace. Love, Mama, Papa, Joe, Johnny & Lisa