A good dog never dies
she always stays
she walks beside you
on crisp autumn days
when frost is on the fields
and winter's drawing near
her head is within our hand
in her old way.
-- Mary Carolyn Davies
Donations have been made to
Airedale Rescue in memory of . . .
. . . BRIGAND, mourned by Jessica Hahn, who writes:
He was "a wonderful companion and rescue dog."
. . . PENNY, estimated to be 13 years old; crossed The Rainbow Bridge on December 27, 2003 and mourned deeply by Marilyn & Donald Doudt, who write:
Penny put up a courageous fight, but in the end couldn't fight the infection that was in her lungs. At 9:00 this morning we went and said our final goodbye and let her cross over The Rainbow Bridge.
Penny came to live with us April 24th, 1997. She was a rescue who was dog-aggressive and a fear-biter due to neglect and abuse. She was missing her front teeth from being tied up and chewing on the chain so never knew her age, but estimated age was five to six years when she came to
live with us.
Penny captured both of our hearts from the moment we met her. She needed us and we needed her in our lives. We worked through her problems, gave her TLC and made her part of our family. She in return gave us many laughs and more love than we could have ever asked for. She turned into
the perfect companion, friend and the Princess of our household. She was the love of Don's life and also mine. We will miss our baby aka Princess Penny, but know she is no longer suffering or in pain.
Goodbye Princess. We miss you and know there will never be another one like you.
Mom & Dad Doudt
. . . DUCHESS, born on January 6, 1991; crossed The Rainbow Bridge on January 3, 2004 and is mourned deeply by Ken & Marilyn Oliak, as well as her daughter, Lady, and the Scotties, Bonnie & MacDuff
. . . ERIC [Denninger/Jacobson], who came into Airedale Terrier Rescue & Adoption (ATRA)on 15 January 2004. His Forever Home was on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, and he went there on 26 January 2004.
Eric is grieved for by his Rescue Family (Andréa, VetteMan and April, Cari & Rico); his Foster Family (Renee Jacobson & family, including Airedales Demi & Abby); Paula Lackner, who arranged Eric's Rescue; and Jim Lackner, who transported him.
. . . EMILY, missed by Abbe, Saul & Jacob Stashower. Abbe writes:
On Saturday, 29 January 2005, we gave Emily her "wings".
Emily came to live with us in America on Monday, 17 January 2000. She lived her first six & three-quarter years in Boston Bar, British Columbia with Ginny Higdon. I needed a girl to help heal my broken heart from the passing of Tigger's mum, Sadie, in December 1999.
Poor Emily; she had an impossible void to fill. I'm afraid I was not very fair to her at first. Saul & Jacob were much more accepting. But to me she wasn't Sadie, she was Emily. But bless her heart; she kept at me and made me realize just how wonderful & different she was. She was Emily and that was perfect.
Emily thought she was coming to live in a home where there was only one other dog she'd have to share attention with; and she was for about six weeks. I rocked her world when I brought Katie home with me from England in March 2000. From that point on, Emily had amazingly "green" eyes - oh, was she a jealous girl! But Emily learned to love her little sister and showed great joy in teaching Katie right from wrong.
Emily learned how fun it was to live with a two-legged little boy. Emily loved to chew on plastic (a habit she had that Ginny "forgot" to pass on to me when Emily came to live with us!). The amazing Emily managed to destroy Superman with her teeth! She loved this little stuffed polar bear that Jacob had. She would carry it, ever-so-carefully in that ever-so-huge-and-gentle mouth of hers. Emily was so excited when she received her very own Canada goose - stuffed, of course. She would proudly carry it around the house and often met me at the front door with the goose in her mouth and her tail wagging! The twinkle in her eye said "Hey, look what I got! Isn't it great!" Emily's goose crossed The Bridge with her.
Emily loved puppies! She had had three beautiful litters before she came to live with us. But clearly that wasn't enough and although she was spayed, her love of puppies was a forever part of her. When Katie was due to have her first litter in October 2001, it was Emily that supervised the putting together of the whelping box in the dining room. It was Emily who inspected that we had torn up the paper for the box correctly. And when those puppies were born, it was Emily that checked on them EVERY time she walked by the box, with nary a sound from Momma Kate.
Tigger was not so lucky - he couldn't even glance at those puppies without a growl from Kate. One day when the puppies were still quite young/new, Emily could stand it no longer and just hopped in the box to inspect the babies up close! She was so sweet & so careful. When Katie had her second litter in October 2003, Emily wanted to send ME out of the room and she was ready to be the midwife! Once again, Emily could do no wrong in Katie's eyes.
In late November 2003, Emily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right rear leg. She had her leg amputated on 15 December 2003. I cried when I first saw her, but she tried to be so strong and wagged her tail at me while she was helped to stand. I knew right then, I had to stop my tears and never again feel sorry for this girl.
I think we healed together. She insisted on sleeping upstairs with me. It's amazing how light she felt for those few weeks as I carried her up and down the stairs each morning & night. She was supposed to go out on a lead to potty and so after two days of walking around & around the backyard, Emily taught me that if she had to wear a lead, then she wanted to walk in the front yard to potty!
Everyone who met Emily loved her. When people came to look at Katie's puppies, they often asked if Emily was for sale. She went many places with me and once in REI, a man came up to me and said "I know this dog - she lives in Magnolia! I see her everywhere!" Emily was the easy-going, nice girl. She just wanted to be loved - and that she most certainly was. She loved going to the gym in the mornings and would bark a "woof" when she thought it was time to go home.
We knew the cancer would come back, most likely in her lungs. She fought that off for over 13 months, exceeding all the expectations of the "professionals".
When "they" told us in mid-January 2005 that it was back in her lungs, I asked, "How long?" The answer was two to six weeks; I inwardly laughed and thought, "You don't know my Emily - she's a tough girl".
I really, really thought she would live longer. She started to get tired and would sometimes wheeze after climbing the stairs to be with me or walking up the long driveway, something she usually ran up and down a few times while we were just walking up.
Emily was always a very lady-like eater. But then she became uninterested in food. Treats were still good. It was Jacob who discovered that she liked Eggo waffles with whipped cream. But I knew that was not a good diet for a dog. I watched her eyes. She tried; oh, how that spirit was working so hard - she didn't want to give up! But like our vet said; "An Airedale not eating; they'll eat anything that doesn't move faster than them!" I looked into her eyes and knew I had to give her the dignity & respect she deserved - it was time to say goodbye.
She was a beautiful girl - Saul called her his "tall drink of water" - like a model. I will always remember the uniqueness of her three-legged gait and the sounds that she made, walking through the house. Yes, it has taken me a week to tell you all. I have tried; composed in my head, while on a run or in the shower. I've even sat down at the computer and written & rewritten. None of it seems to do justice to this wonderful Airedale that never gave up, that kept trying (yes, sometimes with strong encouragement from me - such as learning how to go through the new dog door or up the stairs as a tripod) and trying till she got it down!.
Did I tell you about the first time I cooked a chicken on the rotisserie in the new Miele oven? Emily sat down and then lay down to watch it cook for over an hour. Or about the time she got her collar stuck on the old dishwasher? She pulled away and the bottom rack "followed" her - quite the scary machine. Then to add fuel to the fire, one time I thought I had closed it and it came down on her head - not hard - but from then on (and forever more) we have a "dishwacker".
It's amazing that in just five years, Emily left us with so many great stories to tell - testament to how amazing she was..
A DOG'S SOUL
Every dog must have a soul Somewhere deep inside
A dog must have a secret place Where every thought abides,
He'll love, tho' he is unloved, And he'll serve tho' badly used,
-- Unknown
. . . TUCKER, who crossed The Rainbow Bridge on 31 January 2004. He will be missed by his best buddy, Biscuit, and by Gregg & Patti Webster, who write:
He had autoimmune and then developed thyroid problems and hip dysplasia, but had been holding his own. It came on really sudden; it shocked us all. He kept getting weaker.
He stood up or paced from about 8:00 a.m. on Friday until he finally collapsed at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. I lay with him on the bathroom floor the rest of the night, but neither of us slept. He ate his breakfast although he wouldn't get up. I finally got him up and he wasn't steady.
I took him to the vet at 9:00 and the prognosis wasn't good. It looked like his organs could no longer take the toll of the disease and pred. I helped him across the Bridge about 9:12 a.m. and held him until the very end -- I told him to go run and play with Misha [Denninger], Aemon, Aaron & Emma [Forrester], and we would be together again someday.
"If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again."
Tucker can be seen on the following pages:
Howliday Cards 2000 - Page 31
HAVE YOU A DOG IN HEAVEN?
Have You a dog in Heaven, Lord?
Does he look up with shining eyes?
Have You a dog in Heaven, Lord?
Please take him into Heaven, Lord,
-- Unknown
. . . GROMIT Schwartzman-Hegewald, who crossed The Rainbow Bridge in January 2004. He will be missed by Dana & Gary, who write:
Gromit was a true friend. He knew me better than [did] family. Gromit enjoyed discovering each new season as it came upon us. The flowers blooming on the apple tree as he would jump up and try to rip them off. The warm breezes of summer while he napped on the deck to the fall of the first leaf in autumn. A walk during the fall meant hours of discovering new and exciting scents like he had never experienced them before. When the first snow of winter would come we would run outside and I would take pictures of him romping and playing like he was a puppy.
Putting away his dog bed, bowls and leash cannot remove the memories of him licking the silverware as I loaded the dishwasher or giving me the eye and stealing my teddy bear off the end table. Or barking at the neighbor dogs as walked by and peed on our mailbox. He was official greeter of our local walking path. If you didn't know Gromit, he would make sure you did. He always made me so proud the way he would walk after he went to the groomer and the way he wanted to get to know every kid in the neighborhood. When he would howl at the squirrels crossing the fence line he was so contagious the girls would join in as a chorus. He loved every dog he met. He loved the groomer and the vet. Gromit loved life. We loved Gromit more than anyone will ever know. Although it was a struggle, Gromit's tail was wagging when he went into his final surgery [for a tumor on the spleen].
Gromit is truly what the Airedale Terrier represents. He has made me fall in love with the breed forever.
. . . ALEX, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge March 13, 2004:
Alex was a loving and devoted friend. He passed away at the age of 14 after a battle with cancer. His "little brother", Hunter (also an Airedale), misses him terribly as do his friends, Chuck Andes & Carol Hartranft.
. . . MURPHY the Wonder Dog, October 4, 1989-May 17, 2004. Maureen Scott writes:
There is an empty collar in our home this morning and a huge empty space in our hearts.
Yesterday, we were obliged to send Murphy the Wonder Dog aka Pinantan Charlie's Mr. Jim, AireCanada's Yukon rescue boy and our dear friend all rolled into one, over The Rainbow Bridge. He left us with a smile, a kiss and a jaunty wave, the sun shining brightly behind him, dappling his lovely silver and champagne coat one last time.
Maureen & Jim have generously shared Murphy's story, complete with pictures. His story is an inspiration to all those involved with Rescue, particularly of senior dogs . . . please click on his name above to go to his website.
. . . BRONTE "My Wonderful Pest", 2 September 1992-29 June 2004. Shirley Gates writes:
My Bronte has gone, my wonderful beautiful pest. What will I do without her. I told her to go in the early hours of the morning - I said I didn't mind (I lied); she was ready. Now we are three.
Bronte can be seen on the following page:
Howliday Cards 2001 - Page 3
. . . LUCY, owned by Patricia Zebuth
. . . ANDY, June 22, 1999-November 3, 2004; terribly missed by Lydia & Alice Ross
GO TO
Where all his hurts and grievances Are buried with his pride.
Where he decides the good and bad, The wrong way from the right,
And where his judgement carefully Is hidden from our sight.
A sort of close acquaintance that He trusts in and confides
,
And when accused unjustly for Himself, He cannot speak, Rebuked,
He finds within his soul The comfort he must seek.
And one kind word will wipe away The times when he's abused
Altho' his heart may break in two His love will still be whole,
Because God gave to every dog An understanding Soul
Howliday Cards 2001 - Page 6
Howliday Cards 2002 - Page 6
Howliday Cards 2003 - Page 1
And do you pat its head?
Does he sit up and beg each night
Before he goes to bed?
When he sees Your smiling face?
Does he wag his stubby little tail
When he wants to run a race?
Is there room for just one more?
'Cause my little dog died today;
He'll be waiting at Your door.
And keep him there for me,
Just feed him, pet him, love him, Lord,
That's all he'll ask of Thee.
AIREDALES IN MEMORIAM, PAGE 15