MAX, TO SOON. WE ASK, WHY/

Max! Max! whispers Universe. Time to come home! 
We didn’t want to hear that whisper, NO!! screamed our hearts, but only an empty echo was being heard.

He was loved by many, and made us smile at his goofy way of talking back to you. Yes, he could talk!  

MAX, not even one year old, with a black beautiful fur-coat charmed us all. Even us, who only saw him on a picture.

Yes he could talk. He talked to his foster mom every morning, well every minute he saw her. And she, as a good mom, answered him back with so much love and affection.

An American lady found him.  She thought he was very skinny and brought him to the veterinarian, who de-wormed him. Still he wouldn’t gain any weight, and they also thought he walked funny. He was taken to another veterinarian who said he probably had a neurologic problem. AWL was contacted and the pictures that were sent with a request made Mia’s eyes tear up. He was a young, black male with the saddest yet hopeful eyes.

Mia, our president, was in a hospital at that time, fighting her own fight against a disease.  She would sneak out from treatment to check the email updates.  The American lady had brought him in but couldn’t keep him.  MAX had terrible diarrhea and his rear-end was red, raw and horrible. Mia called down to Italy, to her friend and volunteer Martina. Rambling on, half sobbing, half begging Mia asked Martina to bring MAX in to the hospice.

He came to our hospice and was loved by everyone, some felt so bad for him because he often slipped in his own diarrhea.  Martina and Pio agreed to bring him to their home where they could better monitor him. There was so much love between Martina and MAX, every morning he would speak to her. He loved it, having his own jacket that she bought special for him--and on top of everything getting to lie next to the radiator. He was morning-lazy and didn’t want to go out but Martina smiled and helped him out.

Tests were done, many tests, many different opinions, many different medicines prescribed. Confusion started to fill our hearts and minds.

Martina and Pio fought for him, drove back and forth to the clinic, cried and tried to be brave.

He gained a little weight, and everything began to look positive until MAX started to have small seizures.  He was rushed back to the veterinarian for more medicine. A test to take out fluid from his brain was scheduled, but delayed.  Max got worse and started to suffer really bad seizures.  

At the end the pain to see this Angel suffer was enough. Dr. Vittorio was called to come Martina’s home to have MAX removed from his miseries. The pain inside Martina’s heart was so enormous that she shut the whole world out. Those who don’t know her cannot see anything different, but we who know her, can see the deep pain and scares left in her heart.

MAX will be buried under the tree in their garden, to ever be close, ever remembered, ever loved --- one who left this Earth far too early.

He left many smiles before leaving. It is not difficult to love a dog; the difficulty is to let go when heaven is calling.

Rest in Peace, MAX.  Rest in forever Amore.