Nvwati

Nvwati who was timber wolf/siberian husky was born in my front room on my duvet at 10:30 am on April 1, 1999. Nvwati was the odd dog out....... he was blonde and white, while the other pups in the litter looked more like timber wolves. They got good homes immediately but as prospective new human companions came to see the pups I would pick up Nvwati and all but push him in their arms, but they all said, "No".
When he was six weeks old I awoke to find his wolf mom Miko, in seizure. She was brought to the animal hospital at 7:30 am that day, diagnosed with a brain tumor that afternoon and passed away that night. For six months I couldnt stop crying over her loss.
Nvwati took her death quite hard and so I kept telling him I would keep him for one more week.
Before long he wiggled his way into my heart and he remained my constant companion for over 8 years.
The word Nvwati is a Cherokee word meaning "Good Medicine". And that he was.
I am a person living with AIDS, have survived breast cancer. During times that I wanted to give up he refused to let me.
Nvwati literally stopped traffic when we were out. He was so very beautiful and had an attitude to go along with his beauty.
He competed in a pet singing competetion here and was a finalist. We flew to NYC where he competed in an international pet singing competition. He won second prize. He was on several television shows and travelled all over to perform for a year.
I am aboriginal (Native american) and I drum and he sang right along with me.
Nvwati gave what I referred to as "Butterfly kissies", his tongue barely touching your skin when he kissed you.
He was especially sensitive to homeless people, he seemed to know they needed just a little more love than others might.
Sadly yesterday afternoon while we were out for a walk I noticed he was slow. Jokingly I asked him if he was getting to be an old man. Half an hour after our return home he was laying on the floor and let out a yelp. I helped him to my bed and rubbed his tummy thinking maybe he ate something he shouldn't have. I looked into his beautiful ice blue eyes and saw that he was not ok.
I immediately called the Animal Hospital and was told to bring him in.
We got two blocks from home when he began to stagger and then sat down on the sidewalk. Looking in his beautiful eyes I knew I was losing him. I sat on the sidewalk next to him and held his little head in my arms telling him how much I love him as he passed away. It was 3:30 PM.
The vets ran over to where we were after I called, and examined him right there on the sidewalk and sadly told me he was gone. They carried him to the Animal hospital less than a block away and immediately did an autopsy.
My beloved Nvwati died of a massive heart attack!
After the autopsy I was allowed some alone time with my baby and I held him and cried on him and stroked him and told him how very much I love him, I thanked him for 8 years of unconditional love from him,told him to go play with his wolf mommy and let him know that when die I will make sure I bring a ball with me so we can play together in Rainbow Bridge.
As I left the Animal Hospital, I sat outside on my scooter (wheelchair type thing) and looked up at the sky. On the one side of the street where I was, the sky was blue and sunny. Directly across the street the sky was black and it was raining. It was as though the heavens had opened to welcome my beloved Nvwati home.
I miss him so very much!

Amber O'Hara