"Sable"

February 18, 2001 - October 21, 2009

In Loving Memory

Lady Liberty
"Libby"

July 4, 1997 - October 9, 2009

Remember Me

Remember me when flowers bloom
Early in the spring
Remember me on sunny days
In the fun that summer brings
Remember me in the fall
As you walk through the leaves of gold
And in the wintertime
Remember me in the stories that are told
But most of all remember
Each day - right from the start
I will be forever near
For I live within your heart

~Author Unknown~

When the kids were asleep and the neighborhood rolled up its sidewalks for the night I would take her outside on the front lawn to train her how to bark, sit, heel, stop, come, but mostly to fetch her toys and play.  Those nightly romps lasted as long as it took us to realize just how fast such a little thing could run.  She slipped her collar one day to run after a tow truck (she was sensitive to diesel engines) almost getting run over since the truck wouldn't stop.  A neighbor scooped up my daughter in her car to get her back... that little ball of fur, we were told, made it to the corner store and was on her way back when they caught up with her.  Little did I know just how easy she would be to train, practically training herself.  We found that out the hard way too.  I had been mowing the lawn in the back yard, Libby got tired of chasing the lawn mower and laid down under the dogwood tree.  One of the kids left the gate open while I mowed and Libby wandered out of the back yard.  Soon we had the whole neighborhood scouring the development and woods for Libby.  She never answered our calls.  After 3 hours of looking and calling (I became hoarse) I headed home in defeat.  When I climbed up the front porch there was Libby lying under the patio table calm as could be with a look on her face that screamed innocence.  She had been there the whole time we were looking and never once barked.  It was then I realized she had trained herself to not go off the porch once on it.  She also learned never to leave the backyard even with the gate open without hearing the commands come or lets go.

She was such a well behaved dog!!  In all the years we owned her she never jumped up on the furniture (except during a wicked T& L storm, thus landing on my abdomen knocking the breath out of me), sat around the table and begged, ate off the floor, messed on the floor or carpet unless sick, or chase the wildlife that would wander in our yard from the woods (she believed in my house is your house.)  She was a playful pup and dog!!  She would fetch her favorite toys, could catch a Frisbee or football without breaking stride, hit a ball using her nose into a tall garbage bucket or hit it back to you.  She loved to go running and walking and could outlast even the most committed joggers in the neighborhood. 

She was so full of energy!!  Everyone who met her was amazed at how she could run from one end of the porch to the other end without sliding off, stop in mid stride and spin on a dime without losing her balance.  Libby loved the outside!!  Once she was out she did not like coming back into the house unless it was storming out!!!  She especially loved the snow and making doggy angels in it.  I would shovel tunnel mazes all over the back yard for her, she loved exploring and playing in them.  While we shoveled she would lie in the snow watching us, most of the time we'd have to go brush the snow off her or she'd let herself get buried alive.

I liked to think she loved my singing and was singing with me, but my kids would tell me she was trying to tell me to stop.  She loved to dance with you and would follow your feet movements.

If she didn't like someone she would run and hide behind my legs just like a young child would.  She loved the kids in the neighborhood, probably cause they loved to take her for walks.

Unfortunately, Libby developed a cancerous tumor.  One day I brushed her with no signs of a lump, 3 days later she had a lump the size of a baseball on her thigh!!  Thank God for the president's rebate check!!  The tumor was surgically removed with the sad news it would come back, how fast or soon was not known.  Much to my dismay, her cancer was not treatable with chemo or radiation.

We had 3 more blessed years with Libby after her surgery.  During that time she was spoiled, pampered and loved even more than we already did since she came to live with us.  Unfortunately, Libby's hips gave on her and due to her age and the cancer the vet wouldn't operate to fix them.  The hardest thing to do and live with was having to put her to her final rest.

Rest well my beloved Libby for our paths will surely cross again someday.

Loved and remembered by
Cindy Flagg

"If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again..."

I remember when I was 6, we went to a farm to look at puppies. You followed me around everywhere... but the lady said someone had already bought you, so we kept looking for a puppy. Then one day the lady called to let us know the people who had bought you, wouldn't finish their payments, so they had gone back to get you, and that if we wanted you were ours. Your name was "Amber", but I'd always wanted a dog like the one from Lassie... so being 6 and obsessed with that show and that dog, your name quickly went from "Amber" to "Lassie". You were supposed to be the family dog but it became pretty obvious pretty quick that you were MY dog. You always protected me, even when it was just me and dad or grandma, sometimes even just a friend, goofing off. You always kept the cats in the house and would bring them back in when they got out, and you'd separate them when they fought. Anytime someone who wasn't supposed to be here was here, you let us know. Even the one time the front door was accidentally left open... you made sure we knew.

And even as your hips grew so weak you had trouble getting up and down, you would still follow me to the bathroom and push your way in. You'd follow me into the kitchen every time, hoping I'd drop something. Every time I went up the stairs, you'd slowly follow, waiting for me no matter where I went. At night, even if you didn't go to bed with me at first, if I woke up in the middle of the night and looked at my door, you were there. And if you weren't there you were lying in the hall, flopped on your back with your paws in the air. Sometimes you'd even use the little stool for you beside my bed to get up, because it was too hard for you to just jump up. And every time I'd come home... you'd always be lying by the front door waiting for me.

I used to always complain about your barking... but now every time I hear the garbage truck, or fire works, the dog across the street, or the fire alarm in our house go off... I'm going to wish you were there, annoying me with your high pitched bark.

And I wish that after I finish writing this, I'll go back downstairs to sit on the living room floor, and you'll come squeeze between me and the couch just to lie beside me.

Last of all, I wish it would stop hurting.

Rest in peace Lassie... we love you, and no dog will ever take your place. You were one of a kind, you WERE the "once in a lifetime" dog.

I'm going to miss calling your name and a moment later hearing you get up from where you are to come to me. I'll miss the comfort of having you there on the windy and stormy nights. I'll miss you howling at the sound of ambulances and the ice cream truck. I'll miss whistling to get you to come to me. I'll miss you drooling on my laptop screen. I'll miss rubbing that soft spot between your eyes. I'll miss you walking across my laptop screen. I'll miss how I knew if I left food alone around you, no matter how bad you wanted to, you wouldn't touch it unless I told you to. I'll miss getting you to shake a paw. I'll miss getting you to roll over. I'll miss pretending to shoot you, and you playing dead. I'll miss you licking my feet, even though it was gross and you knew you weren't supposed to. I'll miss the sound of you out in the backyard from my room. I'll miss you bolting from the back door to the back fence because you're convinced someone's trying to break into your yard. I'll miss opening my bedroom door whenever I've closed it, to you sitting right in front of it, waiting for me. I'll miss scratching your ears. I'll miss you following me into the bathroom every morning while I get ready for school. I'll miss you barking at the garbage truck. I'll miss you lying by the front door. I'll miss you constantly moving around the house. I'll miss you coming and sitting on my homework because I was paying more attention to it than you. I'll miss you plopping yourself between me and the cat, because I should being attention to you instead. I'll miss you always asking to go outside. I'll miss coming home to you greeting me at the door, then bugging me until I let you out... just because you know you can. I'll miss you following me to the bathroom, even though I'll be back right away. I'll miss you pushing the bathroom door open. I'll miss your nose. I'll miss the sound of you moving around upstairs while I'm doing laundry. I'll miss the comfort of knowing I'm safe, because you'd die for me. I'll miss you waking me up and making me lift you onto my bed when it's windy, because the wind scares you. I'll miss you waiting for me to finish dinner so you can lick my bowl. I'll miss simply always sharing food with you, no matter what it is I'm eating. I'll miss how you feel, and how much you smelled like old dog. I'll miss waking up and seeing you in my doorway, or in my hallway. I'll miss filling your bowl. I'll miss you ripping open your presents every Christmas. I'll miss every little thing about you and every little thing you did. I'll even miss your barking. I miss you... and I'd do anything if we could have you again, just for another day. For you, this list will forever be a work in progress, because even the smallest of things will be missed... already are missed.
 

"They will not go quietly,
the dogs who share our lives
In subtle ways they let us know,
their spirit still survives
Old habits still make us think
we hear a bark at the door,
or step back when we
drop a tasty morsel on the floor.
Our feet still go around the place
the food dish used to be,
and sometimes, coming home at night,
we miss them terribly
And although time may bring new friends
and a new food dish to fill,
that one place in our hearts belongs to them...
and always will."

Gabrielle M