Topbrass Bear In The Air AX AXJ    10/12/1997 - 7/9/2009

 Smokey was a pleasure to have with us for eleven and a half  years.  She was the hardest driving dog anyone could imagine, and the most affectionate.  It was a privilege to have Smokey as a companion and agility partner.  A week or so ago, Smokey was fetching and brought back a training dummy and a drip of blood on her nose.  It looked like she may have bitten her tongue and it splashed up on her nose.  It was actually the first sign that there was something seriously wrong.  Yesterday, it was confirmed that she had a mast cell tumor in her nose, and it had spread to lymph nodes.  She was having difficulty breathing and could not put her head down to sleep without gagging or choking.  She was active and happy to the end.