My Maltese, Snowball Indiana, had to be put to rest on January 18, 2004, two months to the day of his 12th year. He was my only dog (I got him at 39) and he was my birthday present. He was my dog through and through. He had his moments, but he was quite a kisser & never bit a soul. He comforted me through illnesses and bad times. Snowball came down with heart disease in the summer of 2001. We flew to a convention in DC & got stuck there during 9/11. It took us days to get home (had to drive) only to discover Snowball had a heart attack & was predicted not to live.

I miss him terribly. We used to say we were part of his pack/den & he owned us!