good girl
My parents lost their dog Phantom last night. Her legs hadn't been so great for a long time, but her eyes stayed bright and her appetite and spirit stayed strong. She was always a great dog, from her days of competing in the show ring (she loved the agility contests) to her more mischievous days of eating the entire pumpkin pie in the back of the minivan while Mom & Dad were in the store. More than anything, she could never get enough of having her head in your lap or being next to you. What Phantom loved most was to be loved. And boy was she. Dad posted the passage in the link below about Rainbow Bridge in honor of Phantom. I linked to it and received an awful lot of nice messages from friends. But Phantom was Dad's girl. Dad's not known for directly expressing himself a lot, he's usually more subtle that that; but when he does, its poignant. So I hope he doesn't mind me stealing from him again, but what he posted today is better than anything I could say:
"Thank you all for all you kind condolences.
I think I'm not feeling bad for Phantom. I do think she had a good life and wasn't happy that she could no longer do anything she enjoyed except eat and get a nice head scratch.
I think I'm feeling sorry for myself that I'll no longer get to enjoy her devotion and companionship. Each of the dogs used to get a walk of between a mile and a mile and a half each day. Edn's walk was pretty much mostly a teaching experience. Phantom had been through all that so our walks, often after dark, were just a couple of good old friends enjoying each other and where we were. I miss her."