chowder macleod vogel

Chow, Chow Pow, Powder Puff, Pow pow. He answered to them all.

A few hours ago, we called an ambulance and rushed Chowder to the hospital.  He had collapsed as we were getting ready to go to bed. He was having trouble breathing. The doctors dashed to help him and tried so hard. But sadly, they could not save him.

We are all gutted.

I cannot imagine Beijing without my constant companion.  With Chowder I was able to explore so many unexpected parts of this city.  I always felt safe with him as we followed paths and tramped through woods and fields. He would lie on my feet as I wrote. The blog posts about him always got lots of feedback… most of it positive, although some felt I was a little compulsive about him.  And I was. I adored him.

I found Chowder over the Internet during our first days in Vancouver back in September 2006.  He was a pound dog, 6 months old. No one would adopt him because he had a congenital heart defect and was not expected to live long. It reminded me of Hunter’s diagnosis.  We decided to risk it.  It was one of the best decisions we ever made.

He was a wonderful friend and brought us all incredible joy. He and Jack were pack brothers, or so a trainer once told us explaining why Chowder would never listen to Jack.  Hunter said he was a friend magnet and I think Chowder helped him get the girl! For John, he was company during the odd hours jet lag kept him awake. They often wandered the compound at 4 am.

He was one of our family.  I cannot imagine how we will get through breakfast tomorrow morning; there will be no one to eat the apple cores.

Right now the house is too quiet without his constant panting (a result of his heart condition).  I cannot sleep.

We shall miss him so much.