He was a good dog.
I'm a pretty private person when it comes to my personal life, so I don't often share stuff like this. But I know some of you might be interested in knowing that Romeo, our chihuahua, passed away early this morning. He was about 15 years old, which is a good run for a dog. He had definitely slowed down quite a bit in the last year, and he was on three different medications for his heart -- so this didn't exactly come as a surprise. We'll miss him. He was a good dog.
Here are a few pictures that I found sitting on the DU servers. You may remember seeing some of them.
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thanks for sharing, Skinner. You now have great memories that will last a lifetime.
He really was a cute dog.
Thanks for sharing.
So sorry on the loss of your friend.
. So sorry Skinner.
I am very sorry, Skinner.
I am so sorry for your loss, Skinner. Romeo looks like he was a very happy and well-loved doggie. Peace to you and your family...
this Monday so my heart goes out to you.
We were blessed to be with him as he passed. It is so hard - I keep looking for him and thinking I hear him. Even got the food bowl out ;
( Hugs - may your tears turn to happy memories before long.
You and your family are in my thoughts.
I still cry when I remember my good dog Cammy, who after 15 years left me many years ago. She is worthy of my tears, as Romeo is yours. You were both blessed to share time together on the Earth.
My condolences.
That is a good run for a dog, but still very hard. My sympathies to you and your family. I'm sure you all gave him a happy life, just as he gave to you.
They never leave your heart...
Tikki (the Chi mix) came to us smart as a whip and ready to go..She wanted nothing more than to be our little girl.
But she assessed the situation and saw that she needed to be a bit of a watch-dog around this home
and, I swear, her little girl yip became a big girl bark..
Some times I think they shiver because their engine is always revving up to save the day…
…tiny Wonder Dogs.
The Tikkis
Baby crossed over twenty years ago, I still miss that boy.
You gave him a great life, and he added so much to yours...
I hope your good memories will sustain you and your family as you pass through this time of grief.
Pass gently, Romeo...you were a good dog...
In the last 3 years I have held 2 of my own as they breathed their last. It was the last best thing I could do for them. But damn it hurt. Still does. Still miss 'em. Still love 'em. In some ways losing the dogs has been more painful than losing some people I loved and cared about deeply.
If it came as a surprise or not, losing a beloved pet is still painful.
Peace be with you and yours.
I am so sorry. You'll never stop missing him, but I think that's as it should be... and it will hurt less in time.
He had a great life with you and knew he was beloved. And absolutely adorable (that last picture...!).
So sorry for your loss.
I'm so sorry Skinner.
Romeo looks like a very handsome fellow.
It seems that the price we pay for that gift is that they die before we do, and it's heartbreaking when it happens.
May I point out that Romeo has magnificent ears? The photo where he's curled up asleep -- he looks like the breeze from a fan would send him aloft like Sister Bertrille.
I remember when I lost my feline companion years ago, I actually had to take the next day off, because I was a mess. Hoping that you cherish the memories you made together until you meet up again in the hereafter. 
Grieve not,
nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk of me
as if I were beside you...
I loved you so --
'twas Heaven here with you.
by Isla Paschal Richardson
Where he can play and be with all the little (and big) ones that have gone on before us while they wait for us to join them again.
I have had dogs all my life but a year or two ago a little Chihuahua mix barged into our hearts. OMG. All dogs - all pets really - are special family members but I have never experienced the attachment that this little mutt has engendered.
Love that last shot and that door mat. 
I am sorry for your loss.
He's in doggy heaven now.
Your kids must be devastated, as well.
I remember reading how a family with a six year old were trying to explain why dogs die sooner than we do, and this young child summed it up perfectly. “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life – like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”
The six-year-old continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”
So sorry for the loss of your friend.
along with mine.
What a sweetie. With a little valentine on his forehead no less.
It leaves a real empty spot.
What a cutie he was! Take comfort in knowing he led a good, long, and LOVED life! That's the best any doggie could ask for. I love the doormat with the bite out of it. Very cute!
Hugs to you and your family and condolences for the loss of this adorable family member.
Peace...
I hope you find some comfort. Expected or not, it does not lessen the grief of losing a member of the family.
Personally, I find it harder to handle the passing of a pet than I do most people.
R.I.P. Romeo.....gone to the big backyard in the sky.
Such a sweet furry baby.....
My heart goes out to you. It is so so painful to have to say goodbye to our furry babies. I'm crying just thinking about it.
Thinking of you....grief sucks, it truly does. I hate it.
But it's natural and part of life; feel it to its very depths and cry whenever the wave hits. That is the natural healing process.
Reminding myself of that has always been a lifeline to hang onto when I've had to swim in the ocean of suffering.
They give so much joy in so little time...
Deepest sympathy.
love that last picture! What a sweetie.
So there's alot of memories there from those of us who've been here since soon after DU's founding.
What a cutie and so sorry to hear about his passing. Lost my Siamese cat KoKo (yes, it's my silly DU name) at 18 years...(he was in good shape until the last year)and it was tough to handle, but have all the good fun years to remember him sitting in my lap while I posted here.
What a sweet dog.
RIP Romeo.
It's so hard to lose a fur baby--they are so precious to us.
and he had a very good home. RIP Romeo and Hugs My Friend.
May he cross the rainbow bridge gently.
He looks like a good little dog, Skinner
Sorry for your loss Skinner and family.
I know how much it hurts.
He is so cute, I can't stand it. Those eyes!!!! Hugs, Skinner.
RIP Romeo.
When we're lucky to have our dogs that many years(and there is nothing like the love of an old dog), it never seems long enough. May all the good memories you have of Romeo live in your heart forever.
miss him. Our deepest sympathy.
they get to us don't they.
So sorry my friend..I know it hurts.They are better family than 99% of our blood families most of the time.
Next donation will be in Romeo's honor.
Be with family tonight and remember the good times
Good, good dog.
I'm so sorry, Skinner. What a good friend you had.
I remember the "beware the dog" portrait of Romeo. He looks like a good dog. I'm glad you got 15 years with him.
He was also 15. It is still very hard. Our 4 year old often tells me how much he misses him and that always makes me cry.
I am keeping you and your family in my thoughts.
You and your family are in my thoughts. It's hard to lose the ones who are with us so long because, even though they had many great years with us, they've just been there for so long that it's really hard to be without them.
that looks amazingly like Romeo. I see that he was very well cared for and loved with all the different beddings. Peace to you at this sad time and a sympathetic paw wave from Chiquita.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
-Roger Caras
Romeo was a little trooper and a friend to you and yours. I know you will miss him.
Our family just welcomed our new doggie, Curly, a 6 year old Schnauzer, about 2 months ago and we love him to no end. Even with this, I still miss my old boy Spencer, my Alaskan Malamute who went to doggie Heaven 20 years ago this month.
.
People who've never opened their hearts to animals have no idea of what they're missing. More's the pity for then. Please accept our family's best wishes to you and your family. 
PEACE! 
"Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” - Leo Tolstoy
I'm very sorry for your loss.
I have one of those little guys and they are the best dogs.
Rest in paradise, Romeo.
It is never easy to lose a pet.
Romeo looks like such a cutie.
I love the heart on his head and those soulful eyes are precious.
And quite the guard dog.
Losing a furmily member is hard but it looks and sounds like he was loved very much and Romeo, you and your family are lucky to have had each other.
Take care.
Joining the collective hug.
you and romeo were so lucky to have each other.
the other day skittles posted:
"our pets - they take pieces of our hearts with them"
and they really do, don't they?
loss.
RIP across the Rainbow Bridge, Romeo 
You were fortunate to have him as a pet and he was very fortunate to have you and your family as owners. I remember seeing pictures of him from informal get togethers you had with other DU'ers throughout the years. I am sure that you enriched his life greatly through your presence and vice versa
May Romeo rest in peace and deepest thoughts and condolences to you and your family
Your kids must be devastated; I know that you loved Romeo.
Romeo was a doll, I'm so sorry, Skinner. My childhood dog was a little cocker spaniel and lived to be 14. It was quite the adjustment when she died, it took a long time to get over the "everydayness" of her in my life. They're worth it and then some but boy is it hard to say goodbye to them, especially when they have been a part of your life for that long.
My heart goes out to you and you family.
...and miss her a lot.
