Our beloved Artemus, “Artie” as we called him, came to us in 1989. We were smitten the minute we saw him! He spent the first night in our bed, and slept there with us for 19 wonderful years! In spite of his “little” health problems — tonsils removed before age 1, four separate bouts of pancreatitis, and surgery for melanoma, he beat the odds and lived a long and wonderful life. I recall his dedication to playing fetch with his little orange football only one day after a bout with pancreatitis! I also recall the lamp cords he chewed (usually resulting in a nice “zap” for Mommy, when she turned the lamp on . . .) and how he removed the table leg off the Duncan Phyffe table in his early years during a long day at home while we were at work. It always amazed me how such a small little fellow could chew such a big table leg! Artie was a jumper, and hopped onto Daddy’s desk and chewed all the pencils one afternoon, and opened all the Christmas gifts without damaging one gift — just playing with the paper, which is not unique in itself, but the Christmas tree was a tabletop one! He dearly loved Christmas and opened all of his own gifts, including a battery operated car that he could turn on and off himself by stepping on the remote control, and other mechanical or windup toys, which he truly enjoyed. The more the toy moved or made noise, the better Artie liked it! He always amazed us with his intelligence and affection, his smile (he truly smiled when we came home from work, or he saw one of his special friends!) and we will always hold dear the manner in which he sat on our laps and nuzzled his head on our chests! A special little fellow, he always seemed to know what we were thinking and we seemed to know what he was thinking as well. He knew most of his toys by name, and walked over 2 miles a day with us for nearly 14 of his 19 years. His devotion, unconditional love, affection and companionship was unsurpassed, and a huge part of our hearts will always be with him. We were so fortunate to have Artie and enjoy such love and devotion for such a long time!
Dave Burleson and Pattie Foree