May 1995-June 2011
Our son, Danny, Jr., found Gypsy in an enclosed fenced area near Rocky Flats. She was extremely skinny, unhealthy, and lonely. He rescued her and brought her home. Gypsy fell instantly in love with Danny’s wife, Julia, and hung around her almost 24/7. She never got along with any of the other pets in their house. So they asked us to take her. While I (Carol) was driving to see this new dog, I thought a good name would be, “Gypsy”. Julia and her mom, Vicky, heard Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac on the radio while they were driving home from the vet with her. When I got there, Vicki said “You can name her anything you want but we think Gypsy would be a good name.” I was shocked because Vicki said this without knowing what I was thinking.
She certainly lived up to her name! Gypsy ran off every chance she got to go hassle the ducks and the geese at Lake Park in Louisville. She would often roll over in the goose dung. Ultimately, she came home when she got hungry – sometimes with “Code Enforcement” and needing a bath. One Easter, Gypsy ran out of the house at break-neck speed and hit the side of a passing car. The car did not hit her, she hit the car. Afterwards, she almost never ran off again.
Gypsy AKA Trash Dog just loved to get in the trash, no matter how diligent we were about putting it up. On more than one occasion, I would come home to find Papa and Gypsy in the car because he was “taking her to the pound”. Of course, he was just bluffing.
Gypsy had HDS (Happy Dog Syndrome). When she wagged her tail, she would hit it against the metal railing and it would split open. She couldn’t stop wagging that tail and splitting it open, so it never healed. As a result, the vet had to amputate her tail. In Gypsy’s younger years, she would play football or Hide and Seek with Matthew. Papa remembers Gypsy putting a football block on Matthew that would drop a grown man. When she played Hide and Seek, Gypsy would always hide in the same place! She ran around the backyard like a race dog, only she would go the wrong direction. Gypsy always remembered Danny Jr. She knew and never forgot he was the one who rescued her that day. Every time he would come over to visit, Gypsy would be overly excited to see him – occasionally, she would even wet herself.
Kylie remembers Gypsy had the quickest tongue in the west. You had to be careful when she was licking your face because she would try to slip you the tongue!
In 2004, Gypsy made her stage debut in Lafayette Community Players’ Comedy of Errors. She starred with her family in the production. In this play, Gypsy had to perform “stupid pet tricks”. Her favorite trick was rolling over, flipping over, or moving over which was all the same trick, but we never told Gypsy they look the same. Although she had her moments, Madge (the director) said she behaved better than all of the kids and most of the adults in the performance.
Gypsy was most attached to Papa. She helped him in the kitchen and was a great taster. Accordingly, she knew more cooking secrets than Duke from the Bush Beans commercials. She followed him everywhere and treasured going bye-bye with him. For exercise, she would run around the kitchen island chasing Papa in his wheelchair. She adored being around him.
Gypsy was a cancer survivor of nine years. The veterinary school in Fort Collins performed a radical surgery. Fortunately, she did not need radiation or chemotherapy. When Gypsy was aspiring to be the fattest Whippet in Louisville, our friend, Bonnie, would take her on walks like The Furry Scurry, Canine Classic and hikes up to Mount Sanitas to help her lose weight.
To our knowledge, Gypsy was never a mother. However, she tried very hard to “mother” Michelle’s dog, Neeko (a min-pin). She was extremely nervous and just did not know what to do with him. Ultimately, they were inseparable. Debbie always called them “Pete and Repeat”.
We know Gypsy is now in a better place. Home to Heaven did a fantastic job of helping her. We feel blessed to have our loving friends and family with us during her passing. She is no longer suffering and her pain is gone. We believe our pain of losing her will ease with time. Meanwhile, we have some wonderful memories.