Loki: A Life of Courage
Posted: August 18, 2007 Filed under: Gompa Lhasa Apsos 3 CommentsI received this, along with the tribute, last week and, with Ted’s permission, am sharing it.
I recently came upon your website as I conducted did a search for information about the lineage of two Lhasa Apsos that were part of our family. I first became acquainted with Lhasa Apsos in the Tibetan village of Upper Dharamsala, India (McCleod Ganj) where I lived for a period of time in 1973-74. After my return to Canada I maintained close contact with the Tibetan community in Canada, and later became involved in Tibetan cultural affairs.
In 1989, during the first visit to Ottawa by the Dalai Lama, my wife and I met Gerry D’Aoust during private audience with His Holiness, where he had come to present a pair of Lhasa Apsos puppies to His Holiness as a gift. My wife and I were quite taken with the exceptional beauty of these dogs, and sometime later, in the autumn of 1990, we purchased two beautiful Lhasa Apsos from Gerry.
Because of our association with Tibetans, we understood the significance of the lineage of our dogs, who we named Tashi (male) and Loki (female), and who were two beautiful little Gompa Lhasa Apsos. At the time that we purchased the dogs, Gerry was hopeful that we would eventually be able to have the dogs registered, but this never happened. A number of years ago I did send an email to the monastery where Gerry’s dogs were first transferred, to try to get information from the registry, but received no response at that time. Although both dogs are now deceased, I would still like to have a record of their parentage as far back as the records show, at least to Gerry original breeding stock imported from Nepal and India. I am hoping that you are able to help me.
Loki was a white and black female, and Tashi was a beautiful red-tipped golden male. They were a sister and brother from the same litter, of 4 if I recall correctly. The father was Ngo-Su, but I do not recall the mother’s name. This is part of the information that I am trying to find out, and I am therefore inquiring to see if your organization may have copies of the records which Gerry D’Aoust kept of his litters from that time. Or if not, would you know who has those records. I have also attempted to contact Gerry but have no received a reply as yet.
On a final note, Loki passed away this week, just a few months short of her 17th birthday. I have written a tribute (below) to this precious little being who brought us great joy, along with her brother Tashi who left us 5 years ago, at the age of 12.
I have also attached a series of pictures of our dog that may be of interest to you, including one taken of the puppies at seven weeks old! You can see the resemblance of Loki’s (black and white) facial coloring to some of the dogs shown in early photos taken in Tibet and Nepal.
Sincerely,
Ted Paull
Read Ted’s tribute and see more photos.
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 
“it is hardly fair
To risk your heart to a dog to tear.” Sometimes I find myself saying that when my old dog passes away, I don’t want to go thru this again…and then I go do it again and again..Someone wake me up please!!!! A while ago, while living in San Diego, I had taken a trip and had a pet sitter to take care of my 5 animals. She had left my shih-tzu in the gated and fenced side garden so he could go to the bathroom and she obviously wasn’t paying attention. He went under the gate and walked all the way to the front gate of our development (of 100 houses), took a right turn and then walked all the way down the block to the big new park where we would take our daily walks. There is a huge circular cement running path on which we would walk…no leaves, no sticks, no weeds…(Its a planned community, guys…you could eat off the cement…) Can you imagine? a little blind dog taking himself for a walk?..but I KNEW he was looking for me. Thank goodness the sitter had the presence of mind to go and look for him there…..The same thing happened several months later with a different pet sitter..I was so upset at her for not watching but I was in awe of his courage and blind faith, so to speak, that he would leave his home to look for me. He is not a demonstrative kind of guy..doesn’t lick your hand or jump in your lap for cuddling…This one act spoke volumes about B. He wasn’t running away from home. He just knew he needed to find me. This dog is still with me today and I am constantly amazed at his strong bravehearted spirit and his love. ..The picture of Ted and Loki…you can see the love between them…..precious, breathtaking…
Hi Ted,
My deepest condolences on the loss of your precious Loki. How gracious of God to give her to you for so many years. The love you shared is so apparent in the photos. And Loki’s stalwart courage is equally apparent in her photo above. What a wonderful little Apso person she must have been (and still is!).
We have only recently been introduced to the wonders of Apsos with the adoption of Zeke, a son of FFT One For The Road (Roadie). I see so many similarities in their “Apso-ness”, between Zeke and his father, and also in something you mentioned about Loki. For instance, Zeke also refuses to be obedience trained in any capacity. He loves to go for walks on his leash, but if I try to get him to “heel” or “sit”, he simply lays down, like your Loki, and refuses to budge. So, since he’s not a show dog, I say, what’s the point (that must be his attitude, also!). He’s well behaved and gets moreso as he matures (he’s only ten months old). We are greatly blessed to have him in our lives, and pray that he, too, has a long and loving life with us. Thank you for sharing the wonderful tribute to your special Apso companions.
Katy Widger
Men are supposed to be tough and never cry but your story of Loki brought tears to my eyes.
The lifespan of dogs means that they will inevitably die before us, and leave us to grieve. They give us so much, and in the end we are left so empty since their presence is so overwhelming when they are here; and yet so full of wonderful memories of what they gave us.
I have had many “best friends” over my years, and they all have been very special to me, each in their own way. I have such fond memories of them, their antics, their trials, their love. But for all the pain that remains in my heart after many years since they have gone on before me (and not so many months for some)I cherish each memory and each tear as something that I could never have lived this life without.
Now it’s Zeke’s turn to do the job of bringing joy into our lives every day. He is very good at his job!
You can see all our beloved friends at
http://www.raindanceberryfarm.com/foreverfriends.html