Chico

Throughout my life I have had a lot of fantastic dogs. Each one, with their own special character and personality. In one way or another they have all left a special imprint on my life. They have each been different from one another but each one added something to my life. They all had tricks and words that they knew but I had never had a dog with a sense of humor until I met Chico. He was very loyal and guarded the house and us. He had boundless energy and never ate one shoe or piece of furniture in his life. He had a toy-box under the bed and you could ask him to choose one and he would always get the right one out. He loved soft squeaky ones and he never destroyed them, after playing he would always put it back in the toy-box. He never ate or lost one toy from the day we got him. He was a Briard that Lenox bought for me as an anniversary and birthday present. His real name was Hychyko de Dasilva because we had a few minutes to come up with a name that started with H. That is how the breeder kept track of each litter of puppies. The reason I chose Hychyco is because there is a wonderful girl in Belgium called Caroline that trains dogs for the disabled and her association is called Haichicko. I couldn’t think of a better name. Caroline came to Spain several times to help ANIMO show what service dogs can do.

I wanted to spell it the same way she did but the breeder preferred the ys. It sounded the same and had great meaning for me as I thought how much these dogs help us in our daily lives. A Briard is a French sheepdog with long silky hair and not much of an under-coat so they don’t really shed or get there hair in knots. The hair hangs over their eyes and their ears are up and round with long hair hanging over them. Their back feet turn slightly out making them look like a ballerina. They run like rabbits with both back feet together and have the extra toe which for some reason is so important in a sheepdog. Chico died unexpectedly last night; we sat with him and talked to him until he passed away. I hope our voices helped him. I will miss Chico very much, especially his companionship. He was a funny dog but beautiful and well behaved. Maybe one day I will get another puppy because he is the second Briard I have had and as a breed they have really stolen my heart. The only dog that comes close for me is an Irish Wolfhound.

I have found a few cute pictures that can let you see what of character he was. He loved the water. He would be in the pool first thing every morning when you let him out and in the bath with you if he could.