Maxie Anderson dies aged 15

Posted on Saturday, 23 November 2013 in Animals, Obituaries

GOOD INNINGS: At 15, Maxie has managed to outlast many of her canine compatriots, but there is grave concern that illness may soon claim her.

FAREWELL: Maxie Anderson died on October 28 at the age of 15 years.

Alston, CA, Nov 23 – Siroccan Labrador Maxie Anderson has died aged 15.

The news was released around an hour and a half ago that Anderson died peacefully in Tuesday Heights, Alston, on Labour Day at around 2:45pm Sirocco time.

As noted in a statement released by the office of the Premier, Anderson passed at the intersection of Tomas Street and Tuesday Avenue after battling illness for some months.

She is reported to have been severely ill for three days prior to her death, and was unable to move for most of this time.

The statement hailed Anderson as a “hero of Sirocco, always striving forward in the interests of peace and friendship.”

“A friendly dog, she never harmed a soul, preferring instead friendship over conflict.”

Witnesses report she had a “second wind” shortly before her death, as she was seen resting in the grass of the suburb’s Line Park.

She was laid to rest that afternoon with full honours in the Tent Pegs National Cemetery.

Premier Daniel Anderson was not available to media, with the statement reading that he had only learnt of her death upon his arrival in Alston this afternoon, and was mourning in private.

The news was kept from the Premier until this afternoon as her death coincided with university exams and preparations for the move back to Alston.

He visited her grave a short time ago and appeared composed despite the sombre atmosphere that has fallen on the capital.

Flags have today been lowered to half-mast, with a week’s mourning scheduled for the coming week.

A formal memorial will be dedicated to her in the coming days, with plans to dedicate Matauri Loop, a favourite place of hers, in her honour.

The ministries she was to have led will instead be transferred to her close friend and fellow minister, Scooter Anderson.

Born in New Zealand in 1998, little of her personal life prior to her arrival in Alston in 2001, other than she had one puppy sometime around 1999-2000.

She was a notable presence in Sirocco, guarding the capital through its Maran, Peebles, and GDR phases into the modern Siroccan state.

Anderson was awarded the Order of the Commonwealth earlier this year as a result of her long service in the defence of the Siroccan capital and for her work in the national customs service.