Life of Monty : 1999 - 2012
May 1st, 1999 : Monty races into our hearts
Monty's first day with us
Monty teething on Mommy's hand
Monty took a liking to Mom's red jacket and from then on all his blanets have been red
Napping in Mommy's arms
Hard to believe he was that small
Dog sitting Tessa. Monty took an instant liking to her. He followed her everywhere.
Sleeping on the lounger on the balcony
When he lay there he could watch the traffic through the two inch gap under the wall
Mom made Monty a pillow and he loved it to the end
Monty's first portrait photo
There was a Greek church next door to the apartment with a large field. We'd take
Monty there and throw tennis balls for him to chase. He rarely brought them back to us, but he loved to run after them
Taking a break from ball chasing
On the couch. Even tho he was allowed, for some reason he never jumped up on his
own. He did breifly later in life, but stopped when he lost his vision
We forgot Monty used to do this until we started looking through these photos
Monty's second portrait
Monty and his favorite toy of all time - Puppy Cat. He lost interest when the
squeaker died and we never could find another one. Always regretted throwing it away.
He loved chewing plastic easter eggs when he was little. He'd walk around with half the shell
covering his nose like this
When we got him she said pointedly that he would never sleep on the bed. A week later she
told me he stayed on the bed while she read, a few days after that she 'forgot' to put him in his cage and he never slept
in his cage again
He loved watching life go by. He'd either lay on the floor looking under the wall as seen
earlier, or stand on the lounger like this.
July 2000 we bought a house and Monty found a way to stay close to both us us. He would lay at the
top of the stairs so he could see Dad while he slept in the afternoon, but keep an eye on Mom down below
Three Montys
Every year we went to the visit the ocean at Laguna Beach for Mom's birthday two days after Christmas.
This was Monty's first time
Chilling with Mom
It was a quiet street compared to the one at the apartment, but he still loved looking out
the window. He'd often lay resting his chin on the sill, gazing out
Family portrait. Things were about to change
December 2001
We were taking stock of baby blankets and Monty walked over and curled up on them.
One of our favorite photos of him
Owen arrives and Monty cautiously takes a sniff
Snuggling with Daddy and Owen
Asking maybe, if there's time, could we go for a walk, perhaps?
He loved Owen. He would often lay next to him on the floor
He loved to sleep in the sun on the steps. You had to be careful coming down -
you never knew if he was there or not. He just blended in
December 2002
Relaxing outside. Note the baldness under his armpits. He began to get hotspots, the
treatment of which we believe, gave him diabetes later on
Laying on Owen's sheep blanket
A day at the park
Looking out the window with Owen
Monty loved lounging in the heat of the sun
June 2003 - Owen begins walking and Monty gets a new playmate
Monty could frequently be found sleeping under Owen's crib during naptimes
...or in the bathroom
Hanging out in our newly built extension
Giving Owen some love
From Owen's 18 Month photo shoot - Dec 2003
Mom's Birthday at the Beach, 2003
Monty also liked sleeping on Owen's Pile of Pillows during naptime
Getting comfortable in the fall leaves
Racing to see Daddy. This photo has been on my desk for years
Always willing to suffer indignities, especially for Halloween
Our last Mom's Birthday at the Beach, 2004
Monty disappeared during Owen's 3rd Birthday party, this is how we found him
At the new house in 2005
Finally! Shade, after the deck was built
Playing with Dad, January 2006
Monty never really cared much for the snow. We had to dig a 'bathroom' for him
in the backyard. He would only 'go' on grass
Because we moved across country shortly after he was born we don't really
have a lot of Monty and Baby Adam pictures, regretably. We have video, tho
Monty comes to investigate what all the commotion is about
Monty loved to have us hold his bones while he chewed on them
Dec 2006 - We came back from a weekend away and realized Monty was seriously
underweight. We discovered he had diabetes and needed to go to hospital for a week to get stabilized. We
took these just before he took him in, afraid it might be the last time he was at home
Monty came home! Waiting for his dinner behind the love seat, as usual
Christmas 2006, Monty gets a pig's ear!
Trying to get a nap in on his pillow
Owen's birthday, 2007. Monty loved ripping apart the paper
May 2007. Monty started to lose his vision. Adam and I took him to the Riverwalk
to run off-leash since we weren't sure how much longer he'd be able to
Run Monty! Run!!
He did love running free
Thunderstorm. Not sure if Monty was protecting Adam, or being comforted by Adam's presence
He seemed to enjoy Halloween. He'd always wait by the door all night, waiting for the kids to come
Helping out on Adam's 3rd Birthday
This became our icon. November 2007. We use it on everything
Owen's birthday, 2008
An exceptionally hot day. He couldn't see well, but still found the only
non-grass part of the lawn to lay on
Family portrait, Sept 2008. We wanted to take another one this summer, but it was
extremely hot and then time ran out
Hiding from the Christmas Morning Chaos
He absolutely LOVED the cool weather. Six degrees didn't matter to him,
he'd still lay on the deck for a while.
Sometimes he seemed down. He couldn't run through the house due to his vision,
and Walk-ing him became exhausting for both of us. He'd frequently lay down in the shade and refused to move unless
I carried him
We tried to include him as best we could. We took him to the Drive-In in 2009.
He slept in the driver's seat of the car during the movie
Another visit to the Riverwalk
Adam's birthday, 2009. Monty walked onto the bed, but refused to walk off it thinking there was a drop
Christmas 2009, keeping him out of the way
Owen's birthday, 2010
Some pics to take with us on vacation
Old Man Monty slept a lot these days. He's eleven here in 2010.
Monty must have been poorly because Mom was making him chicken and rice, and he knew it
It's Halloween again!
Dad usually stayed up late Saturday nights and Monty always waited until he went
to bed, even if he couldn't keep awake himself
Paw print in the snow
Adam made reindeer antlers for Monty
With his hair thinning it was time to get him a sweater
Playtime with Daddy...
...always leads to kisses
Adam Loves Monty - Christmas 2010
He knew that rice was for him
Doped out after having some teeth pulled
Just woke up, time to pee
April 2011 - He was becoming so aged he couldn't sense the rabbit right in front of him
Scratching at the door. A common Monty sight
Snuggling with Adam
June 2011 - Lazing around. About all he did those days
All these years later, he still loves his pillow
100 degrees outside, but he knew the bathroom AC vent was the coolest place to be
August 2011 - This was our morning routine. Insulin shot, liver pill shoved in some
Pupperoni, and that yellow stuff was for parasites he had from rabbit poop. He LOVED that yellow stuff!
Adam had to write some sentences for school every week. This is what he wrote early on.
Halloween 2011
Posing for the 2011 Christmas card
Monty came down the stairs sooo carefully, always one step at a time
Sleeping in Dad's office
March 2012. By this stage Monty just slept the day away curled up in the office.
He rarely slept anywhere else. Even his pillow.
Monty usually wouldn't come in the hammock with Dad, but he did this time.
He settled in, dozed, and gave kisses
We found him sleeping soundly next to the air conditioner. He liked sleeping there sometimes
After a weekend away we picked up Monty and he insisted on being with Owen.
Normally he'd lay on the floor.
The day we left for vacation. We took a couple quick pics of him. We knew his
time was short, but we didn't realize how short
July 16, 2012 - We brought the boys home from camp early to say goodbye.
Owen took it very hard
In our final minutes at home Dad lay on the floor Monty on his chest
and hugged him. We think he was gone by then. He never woke up.
Adam wanted Monty's paw print to keep. We trimmed his hair, painted his paw
blue and pressed it against some paper