Molly

The other day I noticed the following "Tweet" on Twitter:

DianeRav: Molly, 13 yr old Tibetan terrier, died Tues night after valiant 2 yrs struggle to beat lymphoma. The disease won. She was a wonderful dog

I looked at DianeRav's info on Twitter, but all that it said on her bio is "I write about education." So I googled her and found that she has a website and she is a professor of education at New York University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Diane has written many books on the topic of education including The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education which was published this year.

Diane confirmed what I already knew. Smart people like Tibetan Terriers.

I felt really sorry about Molly so I sent Diane an email and she responded:

Hi Suddie,

Thanks for your note about Molly. Molly was a purebred TT; she came to my home on Feb 15, 1997, when she was 10 weeks old. Her breeders were in town for the Westminister Kennel Club.

Molly is the third TT that I have owned. The first was Shag, who was abandoned by his family in New Jersey when they moved. He lived for 12 years. Then there was Jezebel, whom I purchased at the age of six months; she was a feisty girl and her owners didn't know how to train her. She turned out to be a wonderful dog. She died at 14. And last, Molly Ann Valentine, the best dog in the world, born in Connecticut. Molly was feisty, funny, lively, alert, a great jumper, with a wonderful sense of humor.

When she turned 10, she got very sick and was diagnosed with lymphoma. I took her to a very high-tech clinic, which gave her tests, medicated her with chemicals, then told me to "put her down." Instead I went to a locally famed Chinese veterinarian, who put her on a regimen of herbal medications.

Molly lived another two and one-half years. We didn't want to lose her. She was the best dog in the world. But eventually the cancer was too much for her brave little body, and she succumbed on March 16, 2010.

We love Tibetans. They are the best.

Diane Ravitch

You may not know this but the Tibetan Terrier Health and Welfare Foundation is working to address diseases and health issues that affect Tibetan Terriers and other dogs. Please support their work. You can even make a donation in memory of Molly. Click here to visit their website today: Tibetan Terrier Health and Welfare Foundation. You can donate online using your credit card.