The Glory of Tory

by Jeannette
(Alaska)

I had a female Maltese named TORY. Bought her when we were moving to a new city and my 2 girls were sad about moving. We named her after Victoria where we lived.

Tory lived until a month after her 15th birthday. She lived a rich, full life with a family that loved her. She had the best temperment and was easily trained. Seemed as if she understood our language because she responded readily to different commands and had a particular growl/talk whenever she wanted me to 'listen' to her.

Seemed as if she was unaware of her age - she played like a puppy up until her last days. We moved every 2 yrs and Tory adapted quickly. Her last home was in Alaska and she seemed to enjoy the weather even if it was too cold. She would fade into the snow berms when she went outside - her white long coat blending in with the ground. She had her full long coat until the end - we never cut her hair length. Maintenance was minimum as we didn't really brush her coat regularly if ever! She loved her trips to the groomer every so often. We had her on a 6 wk to 2 month set up and once she was all fresh and clean with bows, she seemed to have a zip in her step! She did not like being messy.

I felt as if she was very easy to keep as a house pet. Didn't need or seem to want to go on walks but she ran circles around the dining room if I pretended to chase her. She'd go round and round until she was out of breath - her little tail would stick straight up as she ran! Unfortunately, she developed small seizures later in her life and the last two prior to her passing seemed to have taken their toll on her.
Within 2 weeks of Christmas Tory passed away she went peacefully - walked herself to the walk-in shower and lied there behind the curtain. I found her within minutes of her passing as she was still a little warm. Our family's hearts broke when we left us but we knew she had lived well beyond her years and gave us the best years of our family's life when my kids were little. No one is home now, everyone was in college so I think Tory was a little lonesome too.

Maltese dogs have soulful eyes and love way beyond unconditionally.
I can't imagine any other dog living up to this queen of mine.