AND

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Elysee's My Pal Cal, CD.

I find it only fitting to honor Calvin on Amanda's page, this way he can be with the two girls he truly adored, Amanda and Kayla,AKA "Bookee Boo", (the Italian Greyhound shown above with Amanda). We always affectionately called him Cal. His presence was always sweet, gentle and kind. He was truly a one of a kind dog and filled our lives with years of happiness and constant wags. Calvin was a Brussels Griffon. The breed was quite rare and unheard of until a few years ago, when a little Brussels named Jillie had a starring role in the Oscar winning movie, "As Good As It Gets". Jillie brought the breed to the forefront.

Calvin was special in his own right because he carries an obedience title behind his name, which is very uncommon in this breed. He was trained in basic obedience and earned placing ribbons with each of his qualifying legs. Even in his ripe old age Calvin would remember his obedience commands. He often appeared to take pride in himself with the memory of the decade old commmands. We were quite proud of him too! He always wanted to please in any and every way he could and always lived his life with a positive attitude. When Cal's health began to fail and we knew our time with him was limited. Short nosed breeds generally don't live long, but Cal had been with us nearly 16 years, a long time for a Brussels, so with each passing day we knew we were on borrowed time.

On July 8th,2001 our beloved friend and companion of nearly 16 years left us. We are truly thankful for each and every day we had the pleasure of his love, friendship and companionship. Cal was much loved and will be greatly missed. His passing has left a great emptiness in our home and the pain at times appears to be unbearable. Losing his friend Bookee two years earlier was nearly unbearable too. Raising pets from puppyhood to the ripe old age of seniorhood hurts like the loss a child.