About Mikey
Remembering Miguel Diego Crissman, AKA "Mikey."
March 6, 2018 - May 23, 2023
Prior to spring of 2018, Mikey was found wandering the streets of Topeka with heartworms. We suspect he stayed alive living out of garbage cans and I have always had to work hard to not let my thoughts linger there too long. An angel in Topeka rescued him and sent him to Lisa Farrell of Midwest Pug Rescue.
While she had him in treatment for heartworms, Lisa posted his photo on Facebook. We had lost Mackenzie - Mackey - the year before. The moment we saw and read about Mikey, we knew we wanted this little boy to be a part of our family. On March 6, 2018, Lisa brought him to our house and our lives began again. Zander became an instant big brother and in his exuberant fashion, began showing Mikey the ropes. We were never quite sure of Mikey's age. Our best guess was about 5 years old.
Mikey was a little timid at first. It took a little time for him to accept cuddles and kisses, so we worked on his terms. We discovered he did like to lay next to us on the couch in the evenings and eventually, he graduated to laps and grew to love kisses and gave the best ones. Mikey was not a fan of being carried, but loved to suit up and go "walkies." He was always my top sous chef in the kitchen and every time you would make eye contact, his tail went off like a spinning top. Certain words made his tail spin even more. For some reason he liked my pet name for him - Mikey Pants.That would really set off his happy meter.
We've always believed dogs were very smart and learn quickly. Mikey learned much from Zander and in turn, Mikey showed Zander a sweet trick - how you could tip over the kitchen trash can or pull the tub of kibble off a higher-than-a-pug shelf. Zander was in Mikey's debt. However, we remidied that by moving the tub to a "higher" shelf.
We knew that Mikey had been deprived of food for some period of time and that sense of deprivation never really left him. It made our hearts ache for him and we did our best to reassure he was safe, protected and fed.
When the pandemic came, Mikey and his brother thought they hit the motherlode when I began working from home. No sooner than I got on a Zoom call, deep-from-the-gut howling ensued, which brought a lot of levity to those meetings.The Boys figured out they would get a treat as soon as they started their dog-and-pony show.
We discovered Mikey liked flavored Nyla Bones, so he had many to choose from. He loved eggs and hash on Saturday mornings and kisses on the pug lips. He loved seeing his friends at Mission Road Animal Clinic - even if it meant a nail trim. Not long after his heartworms were gone, he developed other health issues including a collapsed trachea, but he was never deterred. He just got on with living his life and hardly missed a beat.
Every morning, after he and Zander ate and went out, I would sit down with him and say, Good morning Sunshine and he always responded with a kiss and a wag.
Mikey was with us just five years, but we feel we packed a lifetimes in those blessed years. We love you to the moon and back, Mikey.
We want to thank the following: Lisa Farrell of Midwest Pug Rescue, Dr. Benschoter and all the staff at Mission Road Animal Clinic and Tara Newman.
