Stoggie came to us the same time Noodles did. When we went to MA to see Noodles, the breeder told us to "take the puppy" too. Stoggie was no puppy, she was the same age as Noodles but very small. She was such a sad sight up there, we could not leave her, we took her home. But we were unable to keep her at our house so plans were made for her to live with the Kobstads.

Ted's family lived across the street from Tom's, so we would see her when ever we went to Tom's parents. But she was not happy, she would just pace around and around the pool. One day Ted called and said that his parents could not keep her anymore, she would not eat and would only sleep in a corner by the stairs, never coming in to anyone. Tom said she could come to our house.

I was not home when she came back, but Tom told me when she saw Noodles she wagged her tail so hard it seemed her butt would fall off. She was "friend"sick for Noodles. I did not realize it at the time, but Stoggie never had anyone except Noods in her life. Both girls were banished to the outdoors at their previous home, never having enough human interaction. While Noodles was outgoing, Stoggie was not and relied on Noodles.

Stoggie was now happy, yet she never did warm up to people. She loved when George came over, and would go to him, and even to Ted and Tom, but shyed from women. Stoggie got very sick on me, she was bleeding and not eating, test after test no results. Finally she was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, something rare in my area. She then developed pyometria and had an emergency spay on a Sunday afternoon. I worked with her day and night before her diagnosis and after her surgery, hand feeding a dog that did not want me around her, she must have thought I would hurt her. She never ever made a move to bite me or anyone, ever, she never growled, and had an odd backwards bark.

Eventually she started to trust me, she would let me clean her, cut her nails, pet and hug her, but she would stiffen up quick, that was the sign she had enough. We loved her anyway. Stoggies world was shattered again though when Noodles died. She was sad, I could see it in her, but she also had all the other dogs and us, she went on, although she was missing her best friend and knew they would never be together again in this world.

Stoggie was a rickety old thing, she had big skin tags, she clicked when she walked, some days she would eat, some days she would not. Some days Tom would call me and say it is her time, yet when I came home she would jump up and down like a puppy. I even xrayed her hips thinking she was so dysplastic and painful, yet at 10 years old, her hips were round, tight in the acetabulum and showed no signs of degeneration or problems! She was a wonder. There were times I would have to go out into the dog yard in rain or snow to carry her in the house because she did not want to - or could not - go up the ramp. And since she was skitish, she would run from me, what a sight in the rain...

Stoggie lived to be a few months shy of 12 years old. She died this past spring of 2004. She had broken her leg, I rushed her to my work, she was shocky and bleeding, once we xrayed her and I saw the detail of her fracture, the bone was sticking out of her skin, the look in her eyes, I knew it was finally "her time". I choose to let her go, for her own sake. Knowing her eating habits, her personality, I knew it would be pure torture to her to plate her leg and keep her in the hospital for any amount of time, and once home, would she eat, would she function. I knew she would not and I could not put her through this.

Stoggie lived a nice life with us once she got here, we loved her and did all we could for her. She was an old Dogue that died from an accident, not from health. We miss her very much, but we know that she is happy, finally with her best friend Noodles once again, and now forever, never to be parted again.