Ellie, Evan, and Charlotte (Triple-Smith)

Last Saturday we had to say goodbye to our first baby, Phoenix. She has been a loyal and loving family member for the last 14years. These stories are for later when we need to remember how much she meant to us.

This picture was the last picture we took of her. She developed a tumor on her back a little over a year ago. We had it removed but it came back and was very aggressive. She was too old to go through surgery again, so we just cherished the time we were able to spend with her.

Phoenix was a surprise gift that Jennifer got me for my senior year at PC. We had discussed getting a dog for the fraternity house and she saw little Pea Pie (that's what I usually called her) at the adoption day at PetsMart. She was just a little black fur ball and I loved her from the beginning. Here's a picture from our first day together.

We named her Phoenix. The name related to my Fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi. She loved the frat house. She was always the center of attention when we had visitors. She was not your typical frat dog. Jennifer was very strict on how we took care of her. NO unsupervised running around outside, NO riding in back of trucks and NO table scraps. This was understandable since she was the daughter of a veterinarian. The first thing she ever ate (other than dog food) was a pepper out of a Papa Johns pizza box. My friend did not know the rule, but he was quickly brought up to speed as I watched Phoenix question why she took the people food. She did learn good habits in the house. We taught her how to catch a Frisbee by tossing it back and forth just above her head. She finally got aggravated enough to jump and grab it out of the air. The baseball field was right behind the frat house. I would go out and throw the Frisbee as far as I could and she would take off like a rocket, fly through the air, catch it, and bring it back. She loved it but after about 5-6 throws she would get bored and not bring it back. This usually lead to me chasing her down, which she loved!
When she was not living with me at the house she was with Jennifer right up the road in Greenville. She was good protection, even as a tiny puppy. One night Jennifer took her out and she growled at a suspicious guy that was walking around the apartment complex. We knew from the start that Phoenix was fit for protecting. Phoenix did not just spend her days locked up in the house or the apartment. She made it to class one day! She saw a girl run by the house, jumped out the window, and followed her to campus. Phoenix wandered around for a while, but eventually got into one of the class rooms. We were lucky my friend Stephen Wedgewood was in that class and recognized her immediately. The professor let him take Phoenix back to the dorms and I picked her up after my class. The best part of the story is we all hid it from Jennifer. It was several years later when we were telling old college stories when it slipped out. It was too long ago for her to get mad.

Being our first child, Phoenix had to endure all the humiliation. This was just one of her many costumes. Can't you just see how much she loved the abuse. She would tear those antlers to pieces if we let her.
Phoenix loved the snow. She would run around and bite the snow right out of the air. The picture below was taken from Jennifer's apartment in Augusta. She stayed with Jennifer most of the time, mainly as protection. I was living in Myrtle Beach at the time. Jennifer called me one day from Augusta and she was freaking out. Phoenix had gotten off her leash and was swimming in the pond you see below. Not just your casual dip in the pond. She was chasing ducks. These duck were having a time with her. About the time she would get close, they would fly away and wait for her to catch up. Jennifer was scared that Phoenix would tire out and drowned or one of the huge alligator snapping turtles would eat her. This battle between dog and duck went on for almost an hour. Phoenix lost! She finally got tired and came back to her mom. Jennifer went out the next day and bought a better collar and leash.

This was not the only time Phoenix gave Jennifer a scare. One day we were headed to Habersham and we had Phoenix in her crate locked in the back of the truck. Michelle was with us and we looked back and Phoenix had gotten out of the crate. Remember the rule about no dogs in the back of the truck. Jennifer started screaming for me to pull over. Michelle and I still kid Jennifer about how she reacted. Every thing turned out fine.

Here's a picture of her with us just before we got married.
Phoenix did not get to walk down the aisle at our wedding, but she did get a picture with Jennifer in her dress. I have this picture on my desk at work.

Here's one of our many Christmas Cards that featured the family. You can see that she now has a little brother. We got Arizona in May 2001. Phoenix was the typical dominate older sibling. She showed him who was boss from day one. She controlled Zona mentally and physically. This did not end even with her old age. They had their final show down the night before she died. We know Zona misses her. He has been very sad this past week.

We use to have a boat that Phoenix thought was hers, she loved to ride and every time we stopped she would jump in. She could swim for hours. Zona would jump in after her, but as soon as his feet hit the water he wanted back on the boat. I think Phoenix would swim around laughing at him.
The rare shot of them sleeping together.
Phoenix was not very fond of little kids, but she did love Michelle. And Michelle loved her. They would play for hours.
This is one of my favorite pictures -accept the collar. Zona was wearing the South Carolina collar.Phoenix loved Christmas. I mean Christmas ornaments. Jennifer had made homemade gingerbread ornaments and put them on one of our many trees. We went out to eat one night and Phoenix strategically removed every gingerbread ornament and ate them. All we found was the little hangers in a pile on the floor. We still have not figured out how she did not knock down the whole tree. Maybe Zone gave her a boost - no he was in a crate right next to the tree. So he got to see the whole thing and I am sure she did not share with him. Where is a nanny-cam when you need one?We always made sure she got plenty of presents. And just like other children they did not hold her attention long. She could tear up a toy in seconds just to remove the squeaker. She could also devour a rawhide in minutes. This was our last family Christmas photo. Getting three kids and two dogs to look was almost impossible. Phoenix hated her picture made. Jennifer's Granny Turpin was the same way. So every time Phoenix would see a camera she would turn her head and we would call her Granny Turpin.
This picture was taken last year before Phoenix went for surgery to remove the first tumor. We were not sure if it was cancer so we wanted to get a shot with the kids. They did not get to see Phoenix very much. As I said, she was a little unsure of kids, so we were cautious. And now that she was sick she was happier being left alone. We would let her out while the kids were eating so she could get the scraps. Yes we were breaking the "no people food rule", but she was good at cleaning the floor. Zona needs to step up his game - too many pieces of rice left behind.