Our Dog Flirt has Died
Jan and I knew this day would come. This is our 4th Golden retriever . . . Wrigley was our first, Jack our second, and Ellie our third. All four died from cancer – the golden curse.
Over the last couple of years we could see Flirt age . . . she couldn’t jump up on our bed anymore, long walks became difficult, and so on.
However, her death was so sudden. The morning we couldn’t get Flirt to get up to eat. A bad sign as she loved food. Since none of local vets would see her, we ended up going to the Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialty Center, a 24-hour emergency center, in Medford, Oregon. They were great, professional and very sensitive.
Flirt could no longer walk, so the vets lifted her into the center. After an ultrasound scan, the doctor gave us her diagnosis – Flirt had a large mass in her abdomen near her spleen and fluid in her lungs. All of it probably cancerous. Because of her age, treatment was not an option.
So we’re cutting short our summer trip and heading home in a few days.
We’d like to share a number of movies and photos of Flirt over the years . . .
2012
After our dog Jack died, we decided to get another Golden Retriever. We visited a golden breeder in Wisconsin in June 2012 to put our name in for an upcoming golden litter.
In the following video, Flirt’s father is the last dog on the clip, a 10-year-old male, who melts in Jan’s hands . . . just like Flirt did.
2014
After getting Flirt in late 2012, we adapted another 7-year-old golden, Ellie, a short time later.
The following video was taken on the porch of our park model in Lake Havasu, AZ of the two girls playing:
2016
When we lived at the Crazy Horse Campground in Lake Havasu, AZ, Flirt met two dogs who she played with from time to time . . .
2017
During our summer 2017 trip, we stayed at a seaside campground in Port Aransas, TX. From there, we could Jeep along the miles long Padre Island and play in the Gulf.
This was Flirt’s first time off leash in the water. We’ve never seen her happier. Her tail wagged continuously. Flirt was so excited that soon after running into the water, she took a poop in the waves.
Flirt loved air conditioning . . .
2018
2019
Flirt loved the porch on our Lake Havasu park model. From it she could look down on the park and watch . . . everything.
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO REMEMBER FLIRT
rvSeniorMoments 
Ohhh.. So Sorry for your loss. What a sweet, happy dog. She sure had a great life with you.
Love, Mary
Oh sorry, it was a wrenching moment for me when the vet said “I’ll give you a moment alone”. I carried Dandy up and down the stairs to the backyard and was consoled a bit when the doctor told me about cancer. It came time to end the greatest dog in the world. I’ve not bonded so intensely with an animal again. Since then there’ve been other dogs, finches, cockatiels. Now our pets all live outside. They come to our feeders, graze through the gardens, birth litters under the shed. No vet bills, no tears. It’s hard enough to loose the people I love. I can relate to your sadness.
Hugs T Keyes
Yes, this was hard. She was clearly Tom’s dog, although she loved us both.
Haiku
Flirt lies on the floor
Her eyes and breathing at ease
Not her usual pose
3/10/2014
Flirt has won my heart
She knows to sit close by
A glance, wag, a sigh
7/13/2014
Flirt with collar on
Is eager to run at last
Night’s relief is nigh
Good girl at ready
Five steps to sniffing heaven
Tail wag nose aground
Boundless joy in sight
She quivers and bounds free
For one more release
Such liveliness seen
So little to please ease her
All life in such joy
So truly sad, and feeling your loss at this time. When we lost our last golden it took me two years to even consider getting the girl we have now. Wish we had not waited so long. Memories never die, nor do they, as long as we keep them in our heart!
Flirt was a sweetheart. Sent from my iPhone
Wow I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s so hard to lose our pets…
Sorry for your loss of Flirt. He was a really sweet dog.