R.I.P. Icy

Icy was born in September, 2002. He had a rough time as a puppy. At some time in his early days, someone must have coughed and then hurt him because he was traumatized by anyone coughing near him for the rest of his life. He was living on the street before he was adopted by Fumiyo's friend Geoff. When Geoff found that he couldn't take care of him, the Ishikawas took him even though they lived at the time in a small condo and he was a large dog, even then. We initially called him Iceberg because he seemed as big as an iceberg but shortened it to Icy.
From then on, his life was very good indeed. When Icy was 4, Fumiyo and her friend drove with him from Vancouver to Montreal and back. Icy has probably seen more of Canada then most Canadians, and had fun playing his way across the country.
Fumiyo loves climbing mountains and hiking in general, good traits in a dog owner. Icy needed a lot of exercise and got at least as much as he needed.
When Icy was 8, he was diagnosed with a rare bone disease in one of his legs. The vet said he would have to have the leg amputated. Icy was clumsy enough with 4 legs- we couldn't imagine how he'd get along with 3 legs so we treated him with medicine recommended by another vet and his strange bone disease eventually went away. He limped a bit in his final 4 years, but he was still able to chase balls and climb up and down the many stairs of the Ishikawa house.
A few months ago his health began to deteriorate. He never liked hot weather (just like the Ishikawas). As it got hotter this summer, his health worsened. Finally, he was unable to stand up without being helped by a harness. Finally, on Aug. 25th, Icy breathed his last. It was so strange the next day when the mail carrier put our mail in the mail slot and there was no Icy to bark at him. The house misses his massiveness and of course Fumiyo and I miss him massively.

Our friend Indra, who was a close friend to our daughter Monique, wrote: 

I am so sorry to hear this news. But thank you so much for sharing it with me and taking the time to tell me about the experience. I am sending out my thoughts and supportive energy to you and Kaasan. I know it must be a very hard time and feel a little empty around the house. And I know it doesn’t mean much and they’re just words but I think Icy was an incredibly lucky dog to have found you and Kaasan and have spent so many years with the best owners and friends he could find. 

Ever since I started coming to your guys’ home when I was only 10 years old, I always remember that your pets were part of the family, no different than human family members! And that love that you and Kaasan created with your pets trickled down to Mo and how she interacted with pets. And Icy got all that love for so many years :)