MERLIN, CORBACHO SILVER MAGICIAN

We regret to inform you of the passing of Merlin, Corbacho Silver Magician. All the people who knew him will know of his fabulous temperament and his good manner's. They will also remember him for his love of retrieving. Merlin damaged his spine and tore the ligament in a hind leg when he, at aged twelve, leaped shoulder height to catch a ball. When he landed, the other dogs had come under him and he twisted to avoid hurting them and damaged himself. For more than a year he continued to take flying leaps off our deck and tried to persuade everyone to throw the ball for him. When we refused, fearing further injury, we saw him take a ball down the road to our neighbor's home when he saw their grandsons playing in the driveway. He would also drop the ball from the top of the stairs and run down after it. His determination to continue his athletics finally caused him to tear the tendon in his other rear leg. Our fear of him drowning, after he jumped in our Poodle pond but was unable to get out unassisted, and because he was in pain, the quality of his life became severely impaired. Because we loved him, we choose to let him die, with dignity, in our arms.

Facts you might not know about Merlin

Not only was Merlin our "perfect child" family pet and a great stud dog, he was also a psycho-therapy dog. He assisted me, when I worked with children with ADHD by having a calming influence. He pretended not to understand the word sit and allowed children to "teach" him to do so on command, teaching the children patience and that everyone had to suffer repetition to learn. (At the end of the session the children were always successful. Merlin would sit on their command) Merlin allowed children to do mock operations on him before they had their own operations. He suffered the bandages bravely! Some children whispered secrets of abuse into Merlin's ears that were hard to speak of to people. He was always compassionate. Depressed people could cry into his fur and get unconditional love and comfort from him. Aggressive teenagers, referred by probation officers, learned to respect him. He would always put himself in front of me if he thought I was being threatened. He never even growled but he had a look that sent a firm warning. When working, he was attentive. When not needed, he would lie on his special work blanket, unobtrusive but watchful. He didn't need to be told when someone just needed a gentle head on their knee, nor did he need to be told to withdraw, when the moment had passed and serious therapy was needed. He never needed to be taught these things, he just knew. 

At home, Merlin was the pack leader. He taught the other dogs: when it was time for a potty break; not to enter the kitchen area; to lie down in the family room when the family was at the table; to surround me when I opened the door to strangers.  If an unruly dog raced through the house, Merlin would stand up and roar at it. The  perpetrator would always recognize his authority. Merlin even taught the other dogs to put their toys away, in a bucket, when they had finished playing with them. He always allowed people to walk through the doors in advance of him, a perfect gentleman.

Merlin's special secret? He always slept with his head on a pillow and a teddy bear cuddled against him.

POLAR, VULCAN ICE FASCADE

We regret to inform you of the passing of our beautiful Polar (bear). Polar was over fourteen years old but still was not with us long enough. Unfotunately Polar developed a rapidly growing lump on his lower rib, just under his elbow and, due to his age, it was not possible to remove it under anesthetic. On the Friday, prior to his passing, after a clip and bath, Polar did his "happy dance" even though his legs were wobbly after several strokes. He was always a happy dog. On the following Monday, the lump began splitting open  and we rushed him to the vet. There we had to make the harrowing decision to give him a peaceful end. Wrapped in my arms, Pollar drifted off, over the rainbow bridge to join Merlin.

Facts you might not know about Polar

Polar was born in England at the Vulcan Kennels. He was one of three puppies we saw  but the only one who was afraid to meet us. I did not want to buy him, even though he was the best of the three puppies but my husband fell in love with him. Polar and his two brothers came home with us. Flying home, the puppies even delayed the passengers unboarding because the president of a South American country insisted on seeing and admiring our beautiful cargo.

 (Polar was diirectly related to the second  standard poodle I owned, Vulcan Merry Quip)

For more than two years, Polar was terrified of everything and everyone . While we were vacationing, back in England and a wonderful person was taking care of our dogs, Polar paniced and escaped our property. No one informed us of this event as they knew we would be home on the next plane. Polar was missing for several days. He was occasionally seen but ran off when approached. My children drove three hours to our home and went, with Merlin in search of him. Merlin found him in a field near the freeway and persuaded him to follow him back to the car and jump in beside him. His was badly matted and had to be shaved to get rid of the burrs in his coat. When we returned we heard of Polars days as a hobo and decided to take him to a vet to have his health checked. To our astonishment, in the waiting room Polar approached a little girl, he had always been terrified of children. He pushed her arm up with his nose and encouraged her to pet him. He entered the surgery, walking, he had always had to be dragged in before. He wagged his tail when the vet spoke to him. His personality change was so great we checked his micro chip to make sure he was really our Polar! The new bold Polar stayed with us for the rest of his life.

Polar kept a secret from us for ten years. Shadow, his daughter is able to open any door slide a bolt, turn a key in her teeth and escape, so when I leave her, I started putting her in the kennels where we had a special lock she could not open. (She tried and broke several teeth in the attempt!) To our amazement, on returning home, Polar sat in the driveway. Polar had probably taught Shadow all she knew about breaking out but had kept his ability a secret for ten years.

We will never stop missing our beautiful Polar Bear