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| La Perricholi 1998 - 2012 |
I registered her with AERC - if Julie Suhr could ride a Peruvian in endurance so could I. But Choli couldn't last ten minutes, much less ten hours.
I just knew if we worked carefully she would get stronger - but I watched her become afraid to lie down because she wasn't certain she could get up again. Her gait was awesome - smooth with eye catching termino - until one hind leg, or both, would stop working.
On the rare occasions she'd try to run and buck and kick and play she paid with days of lameness. The shoulder injury which never got right, a torn tendon sheath that never healed. On her "bad" days, her ears would flop like a donkey's as if she was too weary to hold them up. She'd have some good days. I'd grow hopeful again.
Always aloof, Choli never came looking for scratches or treats. But she'd lean into a good grooming and enjoyed (or maybe just tolerated) having the tangles combed out of her mane and tail. She knew that despite the bad times she was beautiful - and that she had that to give me.
Today I brushed out her tail for the last time, reminded her of her beauty and told her she could fly free. Today I touched her velvet ear, her satin muzzle for the last time and wished her a good journey. These are the things I will remember. The weanling leaping into the air like a gazelle. The brilliance in gait before her hind legs failed her. Reaching when I offered for the peppermint Tums I always carry in my pocket.
I'll remember Plato, Joe and Dreamer each coming over to spend time alone with her - I'm sure in their way they knew it was goodbye, and that Choli would now fly free.
Bittersweet - but better she was still able to walk over and nuzzle the vet. That she went to sleep still beautiful, with her pride and dignity intact. And still able to much on peppermints.
