It's time to say goodbye, Sayōnara, adios, au revoir, happy trails. I've had a great run on this earth for 15 1/2 years, but my time is up. I have been feeling very poorly for quite some time, and haven't really known much about what's been going on around me for several months, except for food...I never forgot about food. Like many humans with old-age memory loss, I can't remember much about yesterday or last week, but I well remember my younger days.
I remember when Michael and Kristen rescued me from the Wake County SPCA, and quite possibly thereby saved my life. They told me they were rescuing me, not for themselves, because they already had two dogs, but for Michael's parents, David and Penny, who had previously suffered the loss of a dog that looked a lot like me. They said his name was Tate, and he was a Blue Healer mix just like me. David and Penny came to Raleigh about a week later and picked me up and took me home to Greensboro. They let me out of the car without a leash, and of course I immediately took off to explore the neighborhood, as was my nature. Fortunately, the neighborhood was a dead-end dirt road with one house and a graveyard for neighbors. Poor David looked for me for hours until he finally found me a half mile from home. Needless to say, that was the last time I was free without a leash for awhile, until I finally learned where my home and food bowl were. After that, I could roam to my heart's content and follow my nose wherever it lead me. But, I never went too far, and I was always home at mealtime. Here I am at home in Greensboro pretending to play with a toy Santa. I actually hated stuffed toys. I was just trying to be a good dog for Christmas to please my humans.
Those were awesome days, and they lasted for a couple of years while my humans were still working. We would travel occasionally, especially to Cary to visit Michael and Kristen and their kids, Rachel and Cameron, and their two dogs, Crash and Alex....I call them my cousins. Here we all are in the back of Michael's car getting ready to go for a ride. That's Crash in the middle and Alex on the right. Unfortunately, Crash and Alex, being older than me, preceded me to Doggie Heaven. I hope I get to see them there.
Here I am playing king of the woodpile in Crash and Alex's backyard, keeping an eye out for chipmunks.
At some point, my humans bought a cabin on Lake Lure, my favourite place on earth. When they finally stopped working, we moved there. They let me run off the leash for a little while, but I got in too much trouble with the neighbors. I could not resist walking on their pool cover, and tore holes in it twice. They told me that cost too much money, and I couldn't be off the leash anymore...c'est la vie.
After that, we travelled a lot. We spent winters in Florida where I met Laci, my BFF. I would visit her in Florida and she would come visit me in Lake Lure. Laci got cancer last year and departed this earth just before Christmas. Here we are playing in Florida. I am going to have a lot of friends to play with in doggie heaven.
I liked my life with David and Penny. I liked the boat rides, the car rides, the motorcycle rides....just kidding. David tried to get me on his motorcycle once, but I was having none of that...now maybe if he'd had a sidecar. Anyway, I got to travel a lot. Down to Florida, up to Michigan, here, there, and everywhere, but I never went to sleep in the car. I never even laid down. I sat up and watched out the window the whole time, just in case I ever got separated from them and had to find my own way back home.
I met Brandy in Lake Lure, one of my very favorite people. She dogsat for me, and walked me, and brought me treats. She's someone I will never forget. Also, I will never forget Jackie who would come and stay with me if David and Penny went off on a trip without me. They usually only did that if they were going on an airplane and I couldn't go along, but then Jackie would take good care of me, often for two weeks at a time. She was great.
Another of my canine friends was Lucy. Lucy was a Boxer, and she and her humans, Tom and Dianna, came and stayed at the house with me when David and Penny went to France in the summer of 2012. We had a great time going on walks and guarding the house together. Tom took a funny picture of us both standing at the front door, looking out, watching for burglars and bears. I wish I could find it.
I can't complain about anything in my life except the growing old part....when I couldn't do stairs anymore, so I couldn't go for boat rides. That part sucked. But all in all, it's been a pretty good life for a dog. So long everybody. It was really nice knowing all of you.
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In loving memory of Daisy Klett April, 2004 - August 27, 2019
Flowers and Card From Brandy
