April 29th marked a very sad day for our family. Norman Heiskell Riherd passed away; he was only three and a half years old.For those of you who didn't know him...here's a little biography on Normy.
Norman was born in November of 2005. In January 2006, Daniel was literally begging for a dog. He showed me a thousand dog pictures on puppyfind.com, and when he pulled this picture up I said, "Well, if we get a dog, it has to be this one. He's got that 'je ne sais quoi...'" His name at this point was Fireball (which still makes me laugh).
We brought Norman home, and the saying, "Man's best friend" had never been more true.
At the time of Norman's arrival in our home, I was in the middle of massive work overload at my job. I was traveling practically the entire month--being home maybe 4 nights that month. So...Daniel and Norman had some major bonding time. He even stole my spot in bed...
Norman lived it up in Birmingham and won the hearts of all who met him. When he had to be boarded while we were out of town, the pet lodge employees would keep him up front with them. He would find his way to a lap, and proceed to snore (and toot) the whole day. The workers at the vet adored him and would always ask us about possibly breeding him.
When we moved to Cincinnati, Norman acclimated quickly to his new environment.
When September rolled around, however, the introduction of a new family member wasn't so easy for him. By October, with the combination of Daniel rarely being home, attending to a new baby around the clock, a cold/rainy/snowy winter ensuing, and a very needy dog...something had to give.Daniel and I talked (translation: Daniel listened to me as I cried and carried on about how taking care of a high-maintenance dog was too much with everything else going on. Daniel understood and we came to an agreement that we would keep Norman until the PERFECT home was found for him. To console Daniel, I agreed to let him purchase a new plasma TV with the money we would save by not owning a dog. He agreed but still says he would rather have Norman around.
Within 24 hours, the owner of our vet in Birmingham was willing to meet us in Nashville for the adoption. Norman would be surrounded by dog trainers and dog enthusiasts. He was going to have a big backyard, other brother and sister dogs to play with, and he would be given the attention he craved and deserved. All things we couldn't give him.
The new owners would send us pictures and updates, and it was obvious that Norman was living the dream.
Here are some pictures from his life after us:
Look at that yard...
Even though Norman can't swim (Frenchies are too dense, they just sink), he knows how to have some fun!
He makes friends with all God's creatures...
He has always had a thing for Boston Terriers...
Daniel received a call this week from Norman's owner. They noticed a change in his bowel movements, and sensed something was wrong. After one test, poor Norman seemed to have tumors in his abdomen. They decided to do exploratory surgery and discovered practically all his organs where full of tumors. They realized there was nothing they could do and made the decision to put him to sleep.The news broke our hearts.
We'll always love our Normy, and there will never be another dog that can replace what he meant to our family.
