Cruiser was a rescue but not in the traditional sense. I found out about him from a NJ cocker rescue group. He was a retired champion show dog. His owner was busy breeding and training show dogs and was not paying enough attention to him. She is a very nice lady and I am glad that she recognized that Cruiser was not getting the attention he deserved. As she said, he needed a home where he could be the king. I made him the king. I took him everywhere and gave him the best of everything.

Really I did not rescue Cruiser, he rescued me. No dog will ever love me the way Cruiser did. He followed me everywhere. Even when I took a shower he had to be there with me. He would use his muzzle to slide the glass shower door open and then just sit there and rest his head on the tub ledge, waiting for me. Even when he was old, blind, and deaf he would get out of his bed the minute I came home, nose in the air, "looking" for me. If I went upstairs even for a few minutes I would soon here the thump thump of him trudging his old body up the stairs to find me. He could not see or hear but he could find me by smelling.

Putting Cruiser to sleep was the hardest thing I ever had to do. My family tries to comfort me. They say he was ready and looked at peace when he died in my arms.

Rest in peace my beloved, loyal, sweet boy