Race name: Okie Tommy
Born: September 27, 2002
Passed: September 9, 2010
Adopter: Cindy Monarez

We helped our greyhound Tommy cross over today (with assistance from the staff at Grassmere Animal Hospital). He was a champion in life, and he carried that fighting spirit throughout the span of his illness and applied it during his passing.  He passed due to bone cancer.  
 
Tommy was due to become a senior (age 8 in the greyhound world) on September 27th.  Jan Bornstein was kind enough to send his senior crown through the mail so we could take pictures, and I have attached one to this e-mail (the crown says “Seniors Rule”).  Tommy was the smartest dog I’ve ever had (and I’ve had several), and he loved with the most selfless and single-minded devotion I’ve ever witnessed.   
 
Thanks go to:
All of you who have called or e-mailed in the last few days to offer support and friendship, Susan Greene, my sweet (and fearless!) neighbor who went with me (and cried alongside me) as we sent Tommy home, David Guy, who offered to go with me as well, Cathy Morris, Tommy’s foster mother, who both prepared him for our home, and kept him EVERY SINGLE TIME I’ve gone on a trip in the (almost) 4 years I’ve had him (and loved him as one of her own, because in a way, he was), Pam Neiman and Liz Trapp for bringing him to us on the home visit that started it all, Mardy Fones for answering my relentless questions about adoption, Britt Phillips for her own special brand of caring both in the beginning and ending stages of Tommy’s life, and to Dr. Carol for the humane way she explained osteosarcoma to us, and for making herself available for any questions that came up during the progression of the disease (and plenty did).  

Tommy was diagnosed last month on the 10th, so this underscores just how fast this disease takes over.  Okie Tommy was a champion racer (AAA grade, raced in West Memphis, AK at Southland) and an incredibly handsome dog (Pam used to say he really looked like you imagined greyhounds should look), but his true magnificence was located center mass where his heart was housed.  He leaves behind a three broken-hearted humans and two cats. We will miss him desperately, but are relieved that he is now pain free.
 
Whoever says “they’re just dogs,” has never loved one…
 
Cyndy Monarez