On July 5, 2022, my sweet Fiona crossed the rainbow bridge, at 12 years old. This has to be one of the hardest things I’ve had to face! Fiona was my everything! My truth is, I’ve experienced a lot of hurt in life, from my parents abusing me, (mentally, emotionally and physically), and then abandoning me, (emotionally). I’ve had other family members to “choose sides,” and subsequently, abandon me as well. I only mention these things because I found that Fiona was my emotional support dog before I even knew that was a thing. Somehow, we connected so perfectly, that she always knew when I was down. I remember sometimes she’d just lay next to me on the bed and I’d wind up just laying my head on her side and crying. She ”knew.” Because I always had her, whatever issues I was going through never creeped into depression. Because of my faith and having her there, I’ve always been able to persevere! I’ll never forget her for that.

I still remember, I found Fiona on craigslist when she was a young pup and I thought the ad was a scam lol. She was listed as AKC, in tact, for three hundred dollars! Even back then, that was unheard of! I wound up calling her previous owner and we spoke on the phone for over 2 hours. Within an hour after that, I had created an “excuse,” and I left my job to go and get my baby lol! I knew I had to have her! ♥️

Fiona actually started my business. My first poodle litter was from her. Dogs have always been my passion. I’ve always had aspirations to breed, but Fiona made me fall in love with poodles. So when it came time to name my kennel, it was a no brainer that I had to include her name in my branding. Her legacy will never die! It lives on through her now pups, grandpups, great grandpups and great great, lol. Yes, we have generations from her now. And the beauty of that is, although she had “flaws” according to breed standard, I’ve been able to do strategic breeding to where now we have some of the most perfect examples of breed standard.

Fiona had an aggressive cancer. But she didn’t let me know she was hurting. By the time we went to the vet, he diagnosed it as extremely aggressive and was surprised she was in as good of shape as she was. He said, “she was masking this for you.” He gave me a couple of options but said she would quickly go downhill and had to already be in pain. I had to make the selfless decision, that day, to let my baby go. She’d been soooo selfless to me. I just looked at her and knew it was my turn to pay her back. So, she passed away, in my arms, with me squeezing her super tight, and whispering my appreciation and reassurance to her. She was wagging her tail unto the very end!

I had her cremated and and have a beautiful urn that she’ll remain in at my home. I also had a necklace customized, in which I will carry some of her ashes close to my heart. ♥️

Thanks, Fiona. Daddy will always love you and will always be forever grateful! I’m ok now, and it’s because of you. 🐩♥️🐩