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In 1983 I decided to Adopt a Companion Dog .
I saved money for the adoption fee and read many books about dogs .
I had saved about $125.00  when I seen an add in one of the city papers for Corgi puppies for sale for $50.00 (not purebreed puppies)
I went to the breeder right away and paid her to hold the only female of a litter of five . 

     I also did a lot of research into what was involved in looking after and training a dog .
I decided that I did not want a dog for show , but rather one that would be good for a CompanionAnd for visiting the  eldery and shut-in .

     While waiting to bring her home , I decided to study her breed type and search for an appropriate name for her .
Through my searching , I came across the word "Amicable" , meaning Friendly , which is what her breed is known for .
The first three letters of that word being "Ami"  (pronounced ah-me) which means friend  in the French language .
With no knowledge of the French language, I spelled her name Ami rather than Amie
( Then because of his superstition, he choose to remain with the
masculine ) .
Her full name is Mon Ami (my friend) Carwelshgi (Cardigan Welsh Corgi ) , and by coincidence , her initials spell my first name ( Mac ) , and my last name is Richards .
                 Mon Ami Carwelshgi
                 R  I  C  H  A  R  D  S

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    Ami was "Never" considered Chattel , a Status Symbol , Fur Covered Furniture , or an Annimated Garbage Disposal .
She was an "Adopted Surrogate Child ."
 Ami was not Bought.
The money paid was an Adoption Fee to help cover the breeder's expences .
Ami was a Welsh Cardigan Corgi  ??  Cross .
Her mother was a purebred Cardi but her father sneaked under the fence .      :-)
However , there could never be  a better Companion Dog .

      Ami was the only female of four pups, and the only one that was all tan colored, except for a very small spot of white on her chest between her front legs .
Ami was Adopted and broutht home when she was six weeks old .   Her master wrapped her in one of his sweaters and cuddled her inside his jacket for the two hour trip home.

     For the first four weeks that she was in her new home, her Nursery consisted of  the floor area of a medium sized closet, the bathroom, and a small hall .
The hall was closed off with a 2' high plywood, which she learned to push open by the time she was eight weeks old .
Thereafter, she had the run of the whole
apartment .
From the time she was big enough to climb up onto a livingroom chair, she took possesion of the only one I master had .

She was not the type of companion to be held on your lap .
She loved attention and patting but did not like to be picked up .
And did not like to be put up on high things , such as a table .
( I contribute those fears to the fact that she was allowed to fall off a step going outside , at the breeders .
which may have contributed to her becoming paralized later .

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     Her actual Training started at 8 weeks of age and continued until she was two years old .
Her training consisted of many things .
Every time she and her master crossed the road , she was taught to stand quietly at her master's side , in the middle of the road , while traffic passed on both
sides .
She was expose to loud noises , bicycles , shopping carts and baby carrages , etc , etc ,.
The only thing that bothered her was , anything that sounded like a gun .
A car backfiring , firecrackers , etc, etc ,.
She also hated thunder .
Her favorite hiding spot , when it thundered , was under the bathroom sink .

     When Ami was about 6 months old I took her to the Morningside Animal Clinic for a medical examination and to be dewormed and Shots .
She has been going to the same clinic ever since .
She has her regular shots and a stool sample analysis every year and a blood test every spring before she takes her Filaribits , from June to November , (for heartworm control ).
She takes a garlic capsul and a teaspoon of brewers yeast every morning , for flea control .
When Ami was 6 months old she was spayed .
She is neither a Female or an It , she is an "Altered" dog .

     Around the same time she started her 10 weeks of Kindergarten Puppy Training (KPT) .
Her training was only intended to teach her to be a well behaved and obedient "Companion" and obey while around other dogs , ( She wanted to play with every dog she met,)  Not a Show or Obedience Champion .
She passed with a 75 % on all subjects except "Stand for Examination"  and , of course , she didn't get her certificate .
On stand-for-examination , she just wanted to be friendly with the examiner , and she kept moving around .   :-)
After her KPT training I gave her extensive training in many things.
she was taught to respond to a whistle , hand signals , and voice commands .

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      Ami  lived in the same apartment on the 10th floor of a Hi-Rise building and slept in the same converted living room chair bed all her life .
That Chair became her bed for the rest of her life .
When she outgrew the chair, I removed the upholstery from the back and enlarged it .
That chair was only four feet from my bed for all of her life .

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Many times I would wake up , look over and she would be lying there with her head on the arm of the chair , just looking at me . 

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     Ami wore coats , in winter , Santa suit with hat and glasses at Christmas , a Witches cape with hat mask and broom at Halloween .
All her life she has worn necklaces consisting of Gold (colored) Chain with a row of  8 mm (immitation)  pearls  on each side , all sewn on a red cloth backing .
All specially made by her master .

     Ami would eat raw onions , dill pickles , frozen vegetables (veggie popsickles) and sauercraut , but only very small amounts at a time .
She also liked regular popsickles and all kinds of nuts but , if given ice cream with nuts in it , she would pick all the nuts out and pile them on the floor and will not eat them .

     Ami traveled with me whenever and wherever possible , on bus , subway , streetcar , RT and private cars .
She  accompanied me to conventions , parties , on parades , and lectures .
At a lecture she would sleep under a seat and be very quiet , except when I clapped , then she would bark once or twice .
Right or wrong , she would always support me .

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     She was in a visitation program from 1986 untill 1991, visiting two Nursing Homes three days each week for 3 - 3½ hours each day , plus other friends in their private homes .
She got petted by an average of 250 people , from babies to seniors , every week .
While visiting Nursing Homes Ami would sit on a converted shopping cart so that residents could reach her .
Ami would always have a bowel movement before performing her visitation duties and her master Always Stooped and Scooped no matter where or when she went to the bathroom .

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     There have been articles , some with picture , about her in the Toronto Star , Toronto Sun , Dogs in Canada 1993 annual magazine , PETS Magazine , Urban Pet Magazine , the West Hill News , and Scarborough Mirror .
She has been on Scarborough TV , CFTO NEWS , and  Pet Connection ( which at that time was aired on the CBC-TV .   There was a half hour video of her done by York Comunascope (an amateur film group).
     She met former Scarborough , Ontario Mayor Joyce Trimmer  a number of times .
One of her very good , human , friends presented her master with a hand-painted picture of her , on a bottle .

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     Ami was always on leash while near traffic and when walking inside buildings .
She has never worn a "Collar" in her life .
 Her leash was fastioned to a harnace , in winter , the harnace was sewn into her coats .
Her leash has never been used as a restraint and , except for training , it has rarely been around her neck , but attached to a harness .

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Most dogs have eccentricities (unusual traits) that are hunorous , annoying , or dangerous .
Ami is a very unusual dog .
She .... has a memory  like an elephant , washes her face like a cat , builds a nest like a bird , hops like a kangaroo , swims like a duck, eats grass like a horse , wears coats & jewelry like a human , has the nose of a Bloodhound , lifts her leg similar to a male dog .
Ami had many different gaits depending on what speed she was moving at .
Sometimes she would walk with all four feet going at the same pace , at other times her back feet would hop up and down like a rabbit .    :-)

That's one of the things that made her so interesting .

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There is no doubt that dogs fall in love with people , they become very jealous and they experience embarrassment .
Some dogs would be embarrassed to wear boots or garments , but Ami was proud to wear these things .
However , she was embarrassed when I carried a picket sign out in front of the Morningside Mall because of a police ticket banning me from the mall because I had my dog in the mall .
There were other people allowed in the mall with their dogs and I felt it was unfair that I was not .

     There are about 19 breeds of hounds ; the Wolfhound, foxhound, greyhound, deerhound, otterhound, etc, etc.
Ami was a Coffeehound  :-) .
When in an argument with her master , Ami would always obey but insisted on having the last word ( just like any female ) .   :-)   :-)
When she was about four years old , she found a man's glove and I allowed her to bring it home .

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As soon as she got into the apartment she began to chew the glove .
I told her that she was not to chew it .
She growled a defiance and continued to chew .
I insisted that she not chew the glove and she complained again , as much as  to say that it was her glove and that she could chew it if she wished .
We argued back and forth for a few minutes then she stopped .
However , she had that same glove for the rest of her life and  played with it quite often , and has never chewed it since .
I still have that glove , along with other momentous .

     On Sunday December 9 , 1990 at a Christmas party at Leasure World Nursing Home at about 4:00 pm Ami became a paraplegic puppy .
She was seven years and fourteen weeks old , Quite healthy and very active up until that time .
I carried her about a mile to the subway station , then up and down stairs and on and off  buses , finally arriving home .
I sat on the floor with her head in my lap most of the night .
She was not in much pain until about 3:00 am Monday morning .
At that time she became very distressed and I called the Emergency Animal Clinic .
The Doctor on duty said that from the way I described her condition , there was nothing they could do at the moment and that I should take her to her Doctor first thing in the morning .
At 9:00 Am Monday morning she was admitted to the Morningside animal clinic.
She was examined by Dr gillick and then sent to a spine specialist in Mississauga , Ontario .
She had a myelogram and xrays and then brought back to the Morningside Clinic.

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    Euthanasia was never suggested at any time .
No surgery was performed .
For the next ten days she was under the care of   Dr Gillick , Dr Ford and the staff of the Clinic , for observation and waiting for her K-9 Cart (doggy wheelchair) to come from the K-9 Cart Company in Beryn , Pennsylvania  U.S.A.
I master visited with her for about two hours every day in the clinic visiting room .
On December 21, 1990 she was put in her cart for the first time and she took off down the hall of the clinic before they had her all strapped in .
For the next twelve weeks both Ami and I made a lot of adjustments in their lives .
Her paralysis was permanent , there was no hope that she would ever walk again .

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     For her breed and size , a normal life-span is generally 17 - 20 years , but because of her paralysis she is not expected to go the full span .
Considering her good physical and mental health , plus the fact that she is loved by so many people it is quite possible that she will live to age 14 - 15 .
(She only made it to 10)
I woke up every morning around 3 - 4 Am , put her in her cart , expressed her bladder , then washed up and went back to bed .  ( it was much easier to put her in her cart and put the pan under her )
The whole process took 10 min .
Throughout the day her bladder was expressed every 2½ hrs and she was stimulated to have a bowel movement  ( Please don't ask ) every morning and evening .
After her injury she no longer had a sickle tail , nor could she lift her leg like a male dog .
Brushing and bathing her was more diffcult .

     Also , after she became paralized ,  she could no longer sit on a cart in the Nursing Homes .
Travel on the City transportation was very difficult for both Ami and her master , as he had to carry her up and down stairs in the subway and lift her on and off busses , so they only took about 3 - 5 trips each year .

     After becoming paralized she was no longer able to keep herself clean , so I had to wash her 3 - 4 times each day , the same as a Natural Parent would do for a human baby when the diaper is changed .
When Ami is playing with a dog-friend and she makes a turn too fast she tips herself out of her cart but she does not struggle , she simply waits for me to get her back no her wheels again .
She is so used to wearing coats , costumes , and jewelry that she considers the cart just another thing that she must  wear to please me .
She still has a great desire to welcome all her friends and the number of people who pat and talk to her has increased greatly since she has been paralyzed .
There are only a few restrictions to her activities .
She does not get around as fast as before , but she still gets there .
She now frequently gets her meals in bed   :-)

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     She enjoyed long walks in a park .
Before she became paralyzed her minimum and maximum distance walked in any one day was 5 - 20 Km with an average of 300 Km per month .
Because of lack of use since she became paralyzed , she no longer remembers many of the Whistle and Hand signals.
After  she  became paralyzed and I had an appointment that required me to be away from home for more than two and a half hours , either I would take her with me or I would not go .

     After she became paralized, Ami's leash was attached to her cart and used as an assistive device on inclines and to keep her away from situations where she could fall down a steep slope or get tangled in bushes .
She  usually spent 5 - 7 hrs in her cart each day , in cool weather , but was always taken out for a 1-2 hr rest at noon and suppertime .
She still enjoyed walks in the park , in her cart ,    except that they were only half as long as before .
After her injury she walked an average of 3.25 - 9.5 Km each day .
Before she became paralyzed she could carry sticks that were as big as a man's arm , weighing 4.5 Kg and one metre long , for 0.5 Km.
After she became paralized she was not able to carry big  sticks anymore , but she still enjoyed carrying small sticks , gloves , shoes , etc ,etc .
She had a fetish for anything that had human scent on it .
If she would have had training , it is possible that she could have been a good search and rescue dog .

    I would like to say to those few individuals who have shown Repugnance toward seeing Ami in her cart and to those who are Prejudiced against dogs in general that ... A creature is anything  created .  Therefore , all creatures , are children of God .
Since we , humans , are totally responsible for the mutation of many species of dog on earth , to the point where they are incapable of caring for themselves in the society we have created , we are obligated to take full responsiblity for their welfare .
They must be considered Adopted Surrogate Children and , we their , Foster Surrogate Parents must treat them as we would treat Natural Children .
As Foster Surrogate Parents , we must see to it that we , and our Adopted surrogate Children are granted Appropriate and Just Rights , and that we are Aware of our Responsibilities concerning our Adopted Surrogate Children .
Natural Parents are praised for the sacrifice they make to protect and raise a Natural Child that has mysteriously contracted a terminal illness or , has had a crippling accident , after he/she has been in the family for a considerable time .
On the other hand , moral (and some times financial) support is given to people who know that they have an incureable heredity disease and are told by a number of medical experts , that there is a fifty-fifty chance their children will be born with the disease and will suffer and/or die at a young age .
Yet , because of their Greed , they still insist on bringing these poor suffering souls into the world .  
     However , there are some people who feel that it is cruel to keep a dog , or cat , alive if it is visibly handicapped .
If it is thought to be cruel to keep Ami alive in a K-9 Cart , what would they think about a dog that has only two legs , both on one side , and he/she is still
walking .
     When Ami goes shopping with me , she is always left in a place where she will be warm in winter and cool in summer .
She is always locked to a post or candy machine with a chain , so that on one could get away with her .

     Many people comment on how lucky Ami is to have such a marvelous master but , it is I who is lucky --- to have such  a marvelous Companion Dog .
I figure that I have gotten far more than my fifteen minutes of fame, because of my wonderful Companion.
I would like to Hartily Thank all the Thousands of wonderful people for their Prayers , Gifts , and Moral and Financial Support during our ordeal .
And a very special thanks to Dr Gillick .

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    It is with great sadness that I must say that Ami did not live as long as had expected .
Because she had pancreatitis from the time she was a puppy and it got much worse since her paralysis and her ongoing bladder infection from the begining of her paralysis , she was suffering greatly by the time she reached the age of 10 years .
She was mercifully put to sleep and now is playing with all her friends , Human and Dog , and waiting for me master at the Rainbow Bridge .
     Dr Gillick asked me if I would like to have Ami's ashes .
I said , "No" because of the extra cost and the fact that I could not be sure that the ashes I recieved would be hers .
Bsides , I had so many great memories and pictures , plus this Biography , I will never forget my beloved Ami .

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