Words from Susan van Dijk

Susan van Dijk

I first met Valerie when I shared a hospital room with her mother at the Scarborough Grace.  I was very ill and not often conscious but it seemed whenever I awoke Valerie was there, visiting with her Mom.  Valerie developed a relationship with my Mother, who was there daily caring for me.  Mom told Valerie how much I loved dogs and one day Valerie smuggled one of her Cotonpuppies into the hospital for me to meet!  A few years later my health was once again stable and I began to think about getting a dog.  I was living in Thunder Bay but as soon as I called Valerie she was willing to help and even ship one of her babies to my Mom and I.  It turned out that Valerie had a ten-week-old Coton whose planned family were unable to take him at the last minute.  "Josh" has been a beloved companion for almost seven years now.  I am so attached to Josh that I decided I wanted to add another Coton to my and my husband's "pack".  I'm now living in Calgary but again my first thought was Valerie and I emailed to ask whether she might know of anyone with an adult Coton needing a home.  Well...it turns out she once again had a special male for me.  This one was her former stud dog, Billy Idol.  Billy arrived October 19, 2011 and I spoke with Valerie several times to discuss how he was fitting in (Billy is very timid as he didn't receive proper socialization in his pre-Valerie days).  I emailed Valerie some pictures and a note on how well Billy was doing.  Sadly, it was Valerie's friend Shelley who responded to my email, informing me of Valerie's death.  I still cannot believe such a wonderful lady is gone.  As events turned out, it's obvious to me that we were destined to have Valerie's Billy and he is the sweetest, cuddliest, beautiful inside-and-out dog you could ever hope to meet.  I know if it's possible, Valerie is watching over us and I try every day to be worthy of the two beautiful furry gifts she has given me.