Black Magic’s Camden Brett
Articles Index/In Memoriam, Pets
Posted 06/14/10
As is the case for many prospective Norfolk owners, it took substantial time and effort to obtain our first Norfolk. For us, it was an effort that was rewarded over and over again during the eleven years that our furry angel shared his life with us.
Camden was born in Virginia, where his breeder, Lorraine Comi, was then living. We live in Kansas but as luck would have it, I was on a business trip to Washington, DC and, just as I was leaving to go to an Orioles game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Lorraine called and gave us the news that we could have a puppy.
Arriving home, we introduced ‘Camden’ to our Border Terrier, Fenway, and the two quickly developed a great camaraderie. When Cam was three, our daughter Amy’s Border terrier puppy, Hanover, came to live with us and Camden immediately became her guardian.
In 2002, Camden contracted a rare infection that began to destroy the bones in his right front paw. He lost first one toe, then a second as the vets fought to save him. With a lot of research and a little luck, however, the Kansas State University Veterinary School devised a treatment program that stopped the infection, and we were blessed to have Cam for an additional six years.
After Camden lost his two toes he was a bit slower, but still the leader of our little ‘posse’ of terriers. He still loved to chase those squirrels, rabbits and chipmunks that had the audacity to come into our yard and, bringing up the rear behind his Border Terrier mates, he occasionally would get a chance as prey doubled back on the Borders only to find Cam waiting. I don’t think he ever caught anything in his later years, but he still reveled in the thrill of the chase.
Last October Camden was diagnosed with lymphoma and he developed peritonitis. Although he was a fighter, we knew that it was unfair to prolong the battle. One day we carried him outside the animal hospital with his Border companions. On that afternoon we sat with him as we let the sun warm his black and tan fur. We kept our promise to always take care of him and lovingly said our goodbyes as he drifted peacefully away.
Bob & Carol Fowler
ANTIC, June, 2009
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