I recently heard from Porter’s Mom, Michelle. Unfortunately, Porter passed away at 10.5, and our hearts go out to Porter’s family. He had a wonderful life!
It has taken me nearly six months to send you this note to let you know of our beautiful boy’s passing on July 31, 2020. Porter was one of two males from the litter born on April 10, 2010. He gave our family nearly 10.5 wonderful years. He was truly my best friend and I miss him every day.
His passing was super sudden and utterly heartbreaking. We were told his death was either the result of a burst tumor or a massive stroke. I find solace in the fact that he lived a totally healthy, pain-free life up until that point. He was the fastest dog I’ve ever seen and he got so much joy out of chasing a ball.
You may remember us, my husband Nick is a police officer in Central Park and we had no children when we adopted Porter. My husband is now just a few months shy of retirement we have 7 1/2 year-old twin daughters.
I just wanted to thank you for the care and time you put into your dogs. It really shows and Porter was just amazing. He was incredibly loving yet exceptionally obedient. With the exception of one very poorly placed salami sandwich he never took any food he wasn’t supposed to, would wait to eat, and enter and leave the house until we gave him the proper command and most extraordinary to me, he not once destroyed any of our belongings or anything in our home–including any of our daughters’ toys which when they were babies looked incredibly similar to his own toys.
I’d be happy to send you some pictures of him through the years if you are interested.
This is long, but I wanted to share with you something I shared on social media shortly after his passing:
Last night we had to say goodbye to the best boy in the whole world. We shared our home, our lives, and our hearts with him for over 10 years.
We had a bond like no other I’ve ever known. He was just pure love and all good. When I went through some gut-wrenching years of infertility, I had a habit of sitting on the bottom step of our house or on the kitchen floor and just sobbing and he would always find me, put his head in my lap and let me cry until the fur on his neck was wet with my tears.
After the girls went to bed was our time. With a husband who works nights, he was my best friend and my guardian when the sun went down. He’d follow me around as I cleaned up strewn toys, I’d do dishes as he ate his “din-din”, and then we’d head to the living room. He’d wait patiently on his bed for a handful of “snackers”, then come over to the couch, nudge me with his snout, and I’d rub his ears and scratch his back until it ended with me saying “hug”, he’d plop his head down on my shoulder and we’d both finally be able to relax for the night.
Over the last decade we grew gray together, lost some of our eyesight together, gained a few pounds together, learned to deal with two new humans showing up simultaneously together, and we even got busted up left hips from years of running together. We did it all together.
And now the mailman won’t be bothered, the UPS guy no longer has to live in fear, dogs can walk by without incident, and teenage girls, his most-hated of all passersby, can walk freely. And me… I’m not exactly sure what to do without him.
I loved him from the moment I saw him. He was super elusive and wouldn’t let many people even pet him. I feel honored to have been one of the few he truly loved. I hope someday he’ll be waiting for me with a ball in his mouth, an ear waiting to be scratched, and ready to join me for a mutually pain-free run. Until then, rest easy, my boy.
