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The Watercooler
The Best Dog Ever
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<blockquote data-quote="PonyGirl" data-source="post: 282962" data-attributes="member: 187"><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Hello All. I am so sorry for my long absence. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'">Julius is GOOD! He is almost 5 months old now and absolutely adorable! He smiles when he sees me! </span>I have been thinking of you. Most things are going well but I have struggled this spring. Doing my best to work my way back from the latest body-blow, the loss of my beloved black lab. I've gotten a bit hooked into Facebook lately, found a lot of my old high school chums. The following is the note I posted there.</span></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">My dog died Saturday morning, May 9, 2009. Her name was Shadow.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She came to live with us when she was already 10 months old.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">We soon found out why a pure-bred Black Lab would be a </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"free to good home" kind of dog.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow was a scardey-dog! She was severely gun-shy.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She would never hunt.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow was defined by so much more than that, though.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She was afraid of tape-measures, but not the vacuum.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She was afraid of gunshots, but not thunderstorms.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She had a heart of gold, and would do anything to please us.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow knew how to say "Please" for a treat, and even how to whisper.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She knew what "Bad squirrel" meant, and she would stare</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">them down when they invaded the bird-feeders.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She knew when I filled my thermos in the morning, I would</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">soon be leaving, and she'd find her spot in the den and wait</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">for her cookie-treat.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow knew when she heard me on the phone, she needed</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">to go outside Right Now!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She knew when I ended my nightly call with my husband, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">saying </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Love you, too"</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">it would soon be cookie-time, and then off to bed.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow gave me unconditional love at a time when I needed it most.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She gave me loyalty without question at times when I probably</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">didn't deserve it.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow was my companion, my friend. Wherever I was in the house,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">that's where she wanted to be. (In case I might drop a cookie)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">In early November of 2004, I awoke one morning and she did not</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">come bounding down the hall at the sound of her food hitting the dish.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Upon searching, I found her on the futon in the den. I called to her,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">but she just looked at me with a helpless light in her eyes.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She couldn't move!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">My sister came instantly at my frantic call to her, and together we</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">gently lifted Shadow onto the floor, and once outside found she</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">was able to wabble unsteadily on her feet. We loaded her in the truck</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and made tracks for a vet's office. Shadow was treated for Lyme's Disease, and recovered fully.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">That was the first time we saved her - or actually, the second time, if you count the fact that she found her home with us at almost</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> a year of age.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Mid-July last summer 2008, Shadow stumbled coming </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">down the deck steps, and I heard the most god-awful </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">noise in the entire world. One look told me Shadow </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">had broken her left front leg! Again we raced to the vet's </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">office, me on my own this</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">time, as by now I'm an old hand at Shadow-Rescue.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow was treated for Bone Cancer, with surgery to </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">remove her left front leg. She survived. She thrived. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She had no self-pity or depression to find herself</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">disabled by only having three legs. In fact, I don't think </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">she gave it a second thought.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She trotted down the hall of the vet's office when we </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">came to take her home after her surgery. She jumped </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">into the car like any other time.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">As the summer went on, Shadow and I went out for our annual Blackberry Hunting trips.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">We discovered a trail Behind the Iron Gate, and began to venture further and further</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">each day. Soon we had traversed the entire loop, taking about an hour each trip.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">(Jordan tells me this is probably a 5K hike) As we continued to take our walks together,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">I noticed my dog gaining stamina and needing to take a break and lay down less and less.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Fall came and with it, the most beautiful colors I'd ever seen, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">back in the woods on the trail Behind the Iron Gate. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">I must've taken close to 700 pictures last October! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The two of us had great talks together as we hiked the trail. Occassionaly we had the company of partridge and </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">the lone bird hunter or two, but mostly it was just us. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Me and My Dog.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">When November arrived, I had to bundle up a bit more,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> but we still ventured out. We walked through cold rain </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and early snow, until the clocks changed and we ran out </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">of daylight on weekdays. So, we took the winter off, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and did not return to the Iron Gate until mid-April, 2009.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow and I both found we needed to rest quite </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">often on the trail as we began to get back into</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> hiking shape. We also found just how thick the </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">woods are with ticks this time of year! (News to me, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">even tho I've lived in the Northwoods all my life) </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">She was well-treated with tick repellent, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">but I was still finding dozens of little invaders upon</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">finishing our walks. And as we kept up our hikes, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">we both needed less rest.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">We walked together for the last time on </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Thursday, May 7th. Neither of us knew it</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">would be our last time. Shadow did lay down</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> more often as we came to the final quarter of the trail, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">but she rebounded without apparent effort and was </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">pleased to find her Dad had come home a day early </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">when we arrived back home.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Shadow got to spend her last day on this earth </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">with her beloved Dad, my husband Tom.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">None of us knew it would be her last day. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">As we prepared for bedtime that Friday night,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">we noticed she had stiffened up and could not </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">stand on her own. Tom and I helped her stand upright, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and Tom carried Shadow into our bedroom for the night.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> I believed I was </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">looking at the beginning stages of </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">another bout with Lymes, and I would be visiting the vet</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">first thing Saturday morning. I was confident we would </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">save her yet again.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">It was not to be. Shadow slipped away quietly during </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">the night. I awoke to find her laying on the floor, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">next to my side of the bed. I knelt </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">beside her, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">stroked her fur, and cried for my lost friend. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Tom and I held each other as we tried to take in</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> the fact that Shadow was gone.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">We buried her together with her dog-bed and her favorite toy, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">out beyond the pond in our back yard. I spread red rose </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">petals on the earth above her, and Tom arranged rocks </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">at the head of Shadow's grave. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Her gentle spirit will be with us always, but her </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">death has left such an emptiness in the house </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">it's almost hard to bear. I left the house for work this morning,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">feeling as if I'd forgotten something. The routine of saying goodbye with a cookie-treat and telling her to be a good girl is no longer necessary. But I did stand in the doorway of the den </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and send up a silent prayer.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">I got home from work today and again was </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">shocked at the utter silence in my house.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Before I could talk myself out of it, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">I loaded up my water-bottle and my camera and</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">set out for the Iron Gate.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">It's not the same without my Shadow. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Even the woods are more quiet without</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">her happily jogging along the trail ahead of me. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be - </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">I brought five kleenex along but didn't need them - </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable without my girl.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">How long will it be, before I get used to Life without The Best Dog Ever? </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">I was, however, comforted by the thought today, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">as I drove down the road to my driveway, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"She's still here waiting for me, I just can't see her, is all."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Peace</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px">B</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="PonyGirl, post: 282962, member: 187"] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]Hello All. I am so sorry for my long absence. [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Julius is GOOD! He is almost 5 months old now and absolutely adorable! He smiles when he sees me! [/FONT]I have been thinking of you. Most things are going well but I have struggled this spring. Doing my best to work my way back from the latest body-blow, the loss of my beloved black lab. I've gotten a bit hooked into Facebook lately, found a lot of my old high school chums. The following is the note I posted there.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]My dog died Saturday morning, May 9, 2009. Her name was Shadow. She came to live with us when she was already 10 months old. We soon found out why a pure-bred Black Lab would be a "free to good home" kind of dog. Shadow was a scardey-dog! She was severely gun-shy. She would never hunt. Shadow was defined by so much more than that, though. She was afraid of tape-measures, but not the vacuum. She was afraid of gunshots, but not thunderstorms. She had a heart of gold, and would do anything to please us. Shadow knew how to say "Please" for a treat, and even how to whisper. She knew what "Bad squirrel" meant, and she would stare them down when they invaded the bird-feeders. She knew when I filled my thermos in the morning, I would soon be leaving, and she'd find her spot in the den and wait for her cookie-treat. Shadow knew when she heard me on the phone, she needed to go outside Right Now! She knew when I ended my nightly call with my husband, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]saying [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]"Love you, too" it would soon be cookie-time, and then off to bed. Shadow gave me unconditional love at a time when I needed it most. She gave me loyalty without question at times when I probably didn't deserve it. Shadow was my companion, my friend. Wherever I was in the house, that's where she wanted to be. (In case I might drop a cookie) In early November of 2004, I awoke one morning and she did not come bounding down the hall at the sound of her food hitting the dish. Upon searching, I found her on the futon in the den. I called to her, but she just looked at me with a helpless light in her eyes. She couldn't move! My sister came instantly at my frantic call to her, and together we gently lifted Shadow onto the floor, and once outside found she was able to wabble unsteadily on her feet. We loaded her in the truck and made tracks for a vet's office. Shadow was treated for Lyme's Disease, and recovered fully. That was the first time we saved her - or actually, the second time, if you count the fact that she found her home with us at almost[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2] a year of age. Mid-July last summer 2008, Shadow stumbled coming [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]down the deck steps, and I heard the most god-awful [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]noise in the entire world. One look told me Shadow had broken her left front leg! Again we raced to the vet's [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]office, me on my own this time, as by now I'm an old hand at Shadow-Rescue. Shadow was treated for Bone Cancer, with surgery to [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]remove her left front leg. She survived. She thrived. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]She had no self-pity or depression to find herself disabled by only having three legs. In fact, I don't think [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]she gave it a second thought. She trotted down the hall of the vet's office when we [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]came to take her home after her surgery. She jumped [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]into the car like any other time. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]As the summer went on, Shadow and I went out for our annual Blackberry Hunting trips. We discovered a trail Behind the Iron Gate, and began to venture further and further each day. Soon we had traversed the entire loop, taking about an hour each trip. (Jordan tells me this is probably a 5K hike) As we continued to take our walks together, I noticed my dog gaining stamina and needing to take a break and lay down less and less. Fall came and with it, the most beautiful colors I'd ever seen, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]back in the woods on the trail Behind the Iron Gate. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]I must've taken close to 700 pictures last October! [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]The two of us had great talks together as we hiked the trail. Occassionaly we had the company of partridge and [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]the lone bird hunter or two, but mostly it was just us. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]Me and My Dog. When November arrived, I had to bundle up a bit more,[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2] but we still ventured out. We walked through cold rain [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]and early snow, until the clocks changed and we ran out [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]of daylight on weekdays. So, we took the winter off, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]and did not return to the Iron Gate until mid-April, 2009. Shadow and I both found we needed to rest quite [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]often on the trail as we began to get back into[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2] hiking shape. We also found just how thick the [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]woods are with ticks this time of year! (News to me, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]even tho I've lived in the Northwoods all my life) [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]She was well-treated with tick repellent, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]but I was still finding dozens of little invaders upon finishing our walks. And as we kept up our hikes, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]we both needed less rest. We walked together for the last time on [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]Thursday, May 7th. Neither of us knew it would be our last time. Shadow did lay down[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2] more often as we came to the final quarter of the trail, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]but she rebounded without apparent effort and was [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]pleased to find her Dad had come home a day early [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]when we arrived back home. Shadow got to spend her last day on this earth [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]with her beloved Dad, my husband Tom. None of us knew it would be her last day. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]As we prepared for bedtime that Friday night, we noticed she had stiffened up and could not [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]stand on her own. Tom and I helped her stand upright, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]and Tom carried Shadow into our bedroom for the night.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2] I believed I was [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]looking at the beginning stages of [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]another bout with Lymes, and I would be visiting the vet first thing Saturday morning. I was confident we would [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]save her yet again. It was not to be. Shadow slipped away quietly during [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]the night. I awoke to find her laying on the floor, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]next to my side of the bed. I knelt [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]beside her, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]stroked her fur, and cried for my lost friend. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]Tom and I held each other as we tried to take in[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2] the fact that Shadow was gone. We buried her together with her dog-bed and her favorite toy, out beyond the pond in our back yard. I spread red rose [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]petals on the earth above her, and Tom arranged rocks [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]at the head of Shadow's grave. Her gentle spirit will be with us always, but her [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]death has left such an emptiness in the house [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]it's almost hard to bear. I left the house for work this morning, feeling as if I'd forgotten something. The routine of saying goodbye with a cookie-treat and telling her to be a good girl is no longer necessary. But I did stand in the doorway of the den [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]and send up a silent prayer. I got home from work today and again was [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]shocked at the utter silence in my house. Before I could talk myself out of it, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]I loaded up my water-bottle and my camera and set out for the Iron Gate. It's not the same without my Shadow. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]Even the woods are more quiet without her happily jogging along the trail ahead of me. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be - [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]I brought five kleenex along but didn't need them - [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable without my girl. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]How long will it be, before I get used to Life without The Best Dog Ever? I was, however, comforted by the thought today, [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2]as I drove down the road to my driveway, "She's still here waiting for me, I just can't see her, is all." Peace B [/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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