Montmorencey
Posted on May 22nd, 2008
by 
Geo
Geo
Montmorencey, or, Mr. Monty, was named after the small dog in Jerome K Jerome's book, Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889 about a boating holiday on the Thames.
In the book Montmorencey is described as a very large dog in a very small dog's body, such was his personality. This is Mr. Monty as well.
He is a schipperke (SKIP-er-kee) and is now 13 years old. Skips live to about 16-18 years on a regular basis and are generally a healthy breed. Sadly, Monty was struck with sudden onset glaucoma and went blind over a weekend. However, this doesn't seem to stop him from his favorite activity, wading around in the river. He will spend long periods of time sniffing about the edges of the river that runs through our town. While he no longer lives with me, I put his harness on him and carefully lead him to the edge of the water when I can.
I am amazed at his attitude as he seems to take his blindness in stride. There were a few days early on where he just wanted to lie on the floor wherever he got tired, but he is relearning the house and can even go up and down the stairs after sprinkling a little cinnamon at the top tread. He still stumbles and totters on the uneven ground on our all too few walks, but his ears perk up and his nose sniffs nonstop on the way. We don't walk nearly as far as in the years gone by; we once did the Four Pass Loop and he proved indefatigable along the way.
Monty has his younger brother Carlo and baby sister Francesca to keep him company and on his toes as they still will roughhouse with him and he holds his own.
And so, I try to learn as much as possible from Mr. Monty on our little walks. When I catch myself whining about my lot in life, I stop, sniff the air and close my eyes feeling a small dog's joy coming over me.
Thanks, Monty!
In the book Montmorencey is described as a very large dog in a very small dog's body, such was his personality. This is Mr. Monty as well.
He is a schipperke (SKIP-er-kee) and is now 13 years old. Skips live to about 16-18 years on a regular basis and are generally a healthy breed. Sadly, Monty was struck with sudden onset glaucoma and went blind over a weekend. However, this doesn't seem to stop him from his favorite activity, wading around in the river. He will spend long periods of time sniffing about the edges of the river that runs through our town. While he no longer lives with me, I put his harness on him and carefully lead him to the edge of the water when I can.
I am amazed at his attitude as he seems to take his blindness in stride. There were a few days early on where he just wanted to lie on the floor wherever he got tired, but he is relearning the house and can even go up and down the stairs after sprinkling a little cinnamon at the top tread. He still stumbles and totters on the uneven ground on our all too few walks, but his ears perk up and his nose sniffs nonstop on the way. We don't walk nearly as far as in the years gone by; we once did the Four Pass Loop and he proved indefatigable along the way.
Monty has his younger brother Carlo and baby sister Francesca to keep him company and on his toes as they still will roughhouse with him and he holds his own.
And so, I try to learn as much as possible from Mr. Monty on our little walks. When I catch myself whining about my lot in life, I stop, sniff the air and close my eyes feeling a small dog's joy coming over me.
Thanks, Monty!
Access: Public
QaR
August 2008 
He has a great companion in you!
Smiles!
amber
Though Monty's clearly pretty different, I still find myself thinking of the Belgian Malinois dogs that came into my classroom on career day with members of the local sheriff and police departments. such energy. I miss having a dog sometimes.