Loki

2006 - 2023

“Loki was my “soul dog”. No others will ever come close to him. He wasn’t for everyone or I should say he didn’t like everyone, which meant he decided it just wouldn’t work out. If he loved you, he would swallow your wrist to show you that. He was spunky, mischievous, full of energy and life, an Alpha, a tough “big dog, extra small” and so, so loyal to his people. His excitement for life made him often do the happy pappy tappy dance and you couldn’t help but always sing happy songs (with Loki lyrics) around him. He had a million dollar smile, lit up my world and all I wanted was to constantly be with him and protect him. I think his name was a self-fulfilling prophecy. He learned that I was easily distracted and paced while on the phone so he would go to the pantry door and paw at it. I would mindlessly open it and give treat after treat. I traveled for work a lot the first 6 years of his life, and he got to spend lots of quality time at Grandma’s, playing in the backyard, chasing squirrels, cuddling with Uncle Richard and daily walks. In 2009, he gained a brother in Buddy, an odd couple that perfectly complemented each other. They loved going for walks together and playing find the treats. Loki quickly learned he was too small to get a thrown ball so would let Buddy fetch and would grab the nearest toy/ sock and thrash it while running behind Buddy, skipping at the end. In 2010, he gained a daddy. He eventually became Max’s coworker leading him into their office every morning. He was also Max’s personal nose-cleaner. In 2018, I brought home two lab cat babies that he became absolutely gaga over. He was so excited that night he didn’t even want to go potty to get treats because that meant leaving his babies. His “baby” Draken returned the favor and kept a 24/7 watchful eye on him the months leading up to his passing, especially the last month. In 2021 he took on an apprentice pup, Atti, who kept Loki young, stimulated and allowed Loki to boss around. Loki taught him how to be a great guard dog. Loki was the best considering he ran after a guy fence hoping fleeing from a hit and run. His all-time favorite activities were guarding from the front window, going potty to get treats, shredding toilet paper rollers, pushing a ball between your legs with his face to force you to play fetch, bringing the ball to you and allowing JUST your fingertip to touch it but not enough to grab the ball to the point he frustrated you and made you actually want it, thrashing socks, going for walks, wind-tunnel, fencing with neighbor dogs, humping his “girlfriend” every night or when someone new was around and shredding snotty tissues. He also loved being a “backseat driver” standing on the armrest and literally bracing himself with his arms against us on each turn. He loved food competition so loved find the treats and/or pup-cup with other dogs. He would be calm for flea-checks and lovey-dovies with his daddy, and loved getting spankings (pats on his bum above his tail) or bum scratches. His favorite foods were spaghetti, pizza, cheese, turkey, chick-fil-a, cheeseburgers, meatballs, breakfast tacos, beef and rice, bacon béchamel, pork tenderloin with fries and Bearnaise sauce, Andy’s ice cream. Milk was his absolute favorite. He loved Dingo bones as a pup, Soup Bones, all BilJac treats, HEB treats and homemade chicken jerky and loved my pupcakes for special occasions. He was lucky in that he lead a healthy life because he hated nothing more than the vet. They thought he had a heart murmur during one check-up when he was young, but all other years they couldn’t detect one. Other than the occasional allergic reaction, or a peanut shell on the eyelid or harvester ant bites, he was healthy. During his last 1.5 years of his life, his kidney levels were sometimes just above range, putting him on a mild kidney food diet and started to have “cockroach back”. By summer 2022, we were finally noticing signs of aging. We littered our house with mobility ramps and even gymnastic ramps to help him up and down couches and the bed and earned the name “the up-down clown”. We thought he was having occasional muscle spasms but on Dec 9th, he lost his mobility and couldn’t sit unassisted. We rushed him to his vet, and they believed he had a brain tumor. They gave us a Hail Mary with a steroid prescription. Those steroids bought us a wonderful more 28 days with him and were a miracle for his symptoms for the first few weeks. On January 2, he had another late night episode of loss of balance. Even with more steroids, it was quickly evident after other symptoms like knuckling, vomiting, overly excessive drinking, heavier breathing to name a few, that he didn’t have much time left. In the end, he was surrounded by his mommy, daddy, Atti, Draken, Korpen, Grandma and Trixie after a meal of Chick-Fil-A, Bearnaise sauce and milk. I’ll love and miss my baby boy forever. Loki Sigh Watkins 08/15/2006 - 01/06/2023