As many of you know we lost two of our most loved dogs over the course of this last year, or so. Cindy wrote about my buddy Hobbes in her blog (It's a Mahan Thing) a year ago; "On Saturday, Aug. 4, we had to put our sweet golden retriever out of his misery. He lived with us his entire life, from March of 2000 until the day he died. Many people will attest to the fact that you can't go wrong with a Golden for a loving, gentle, loyal family pet. But Hobbes was exceptional. He came to us as our children were primed to leave the nest...Jen was actually in college, but had moved back home, and Adam graduated from high school the year we brought that puppy home. But Hobbes remembered, and loved, them all. As the kids left home over these last 12 years, college, marriage, Marine Corp, he was never quite as content. But whenever they came home, his world was complete."
And I posted on Facebook in March of this year, Very serious and terminal bone cancer in the left foreleg and shoulder of our great friend and companion of the past eight years (Lizzie). Even if they amputate the limb there is a 90-95% chance of the disease returning. We brought her home from the vet last night with heavy hearts so we could spend a few last hours with her to say goodbye. Kelli will come home tonight to share an evening with her also then we will return to the veterinary office tomorrow and say our final goodbyes. Lizzie has been a good dog with a very sweet and loving personality. I (we) will miss her when she is gone.
Many of the relationships that we have as part of the human family can be termed Love/Hate/Love. I have never had that kind of relationship with any of the many dogs that have populated my life over the five plus decades I have enjoyed thus far. I think the tally is up to eleven dogs over those years (am I really this old?). The relationship between man and dog, from my perspective, is one of love/love. We love them because they first love us. Charles M. Schulz is quoted as having said, "Happiness is a warm puppy." I agree. I know that when I have been involved in picking out a new puppy to come to my life I am not the one doing the picking out. The puppies I got right out of high school (Duke and Greg a pair of Golden Retriever brothers) chose me. They came to me and did not like it that I was showing an interest in any of their litter mates. Cindy and the kids have chosen all the other puppies that have come to our home and I am certain that the experience was similar.
Following the loss of Hobbes and Lizzie we were thinking that we would not get another dog to be companion and friend to Viva (Border Collie mix) unless she just could not handle being the only dog in the household. She did okay most of the time but would mope and be dejected from time to time as the weeks went by. The biggest concern in my little brain has been that Cindy will be returning to work later this summer and I worry about how Viva will react to being home alone every day once that occurs. We decided about a month ago that we would look for an older (four to six years) dog that needed a home. We figure that they could grow old together and likely approach death at about the same time. Then, if Cindy doesn't change her mind, we will go without. Too many family events that require travel around the country to worry about a dog left behind.
Cindy found a couple dogs that fit the description of what we were looking for and she even went and spent some time with one of the choices. Before she could go get Viva and return (along with me) to see how they would get along that dog had been adopted. That evening as we were out to dinner we discussed what other options we had and decided to contact the veterinary office we have used since we arrived in Montrose in 2006. She did. They pointed us toward a six year old Shepherd/Lab mix that was owned by a couple who had just been admitted to a care facility as they near the end of life. We introduced her to Viva a week ago and they, while hesitant, have become good companions. There are still changes to make in the training of this dog. But, she is very intelligent and responds well to the direction we give. I walked to the back door on a recent evening to hand the telephone to Cindy and as I opened the door I noticed that she was crying and I could not tell why. She wiped her eyes and came to get the telephone explaining as she walked over that the dogs were playing together - something we have not seen in months and the joy on Viva's countenance was very evident. Both are thriving so far and we are very pleased.
Sorry about two more serious posts in a row, Humor will return next week (I think).
Thanks for checking in. More to come. See you soon.
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