So hard to say goodbye....

Many of you who will read this already know of the loss of a very important member of my family. On Saturday, we had to make the decision to let Doc go to a better place instead of putting him through at least one perhaps more surgeries that stood a strong chance of not working at all. So mid-day Saturday we said farewell to our 9-year-old Blue Heeler, Doc. He’s buried on the edge of the pasture and the woods so he can forever keep an eye on the horses and watch the rabbits, turkey and deer. Words cannot truly express the feelings we have but I want to take a stab at it.

Doc joined our family as a puppy and what a lively puppy he was! He was born in a barn in Greenbrier, TN as one of four puppies in the litter. At the time he was the “runt’ of the litter and seemed to be destined to be small. Not so. He turned out to be the closest likeness to his dad, Murph, as any of the four.

Pepper wasn’t so very happy to have a puppy around the house but being the fabulous queen bee that she is, she tolerated him….and tried to take him out and lose him in the woods! She would go on her “rounds” early in the morning with Doc trailing behind her on his little puppy legs. Ironically, she never went too far or too fast when she was heading away from the house. A short time later, she’d be sitting on the back porch looking in the sliding doors with a guilty expression and Doc was nowhere to be found. Many times, Maurice would set out to find the missing puppy and would always hear a little puppy bark as he walked. Eventually, he caught up with a tired Doc and they came back home. This continued for months until Doc got big enough and strong enough and smart enough that she couldn’t “lose” him anymore. I remember that day because the expression on her face was resigned disgust. Don’t get me wrong, she was great with him. Very maternal and affectionate. Also took plenty of time to teach him right from wrong….and manners. She never did teach him not to pee on tires but hey, a dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do, right?

Doc had his fair share of mis-adventures:

· He was lost for 3 days when I was 7 months pregnant with Thomas. He turned out to be about a mile away but somehow got disoriented and couldn’t find his home scent. We found him covered in poop from the barn he’d been hiding in and scared to death. At first he didn’t recognize Maurice but when he did, you could almost hear “Daddy!” as he plowed into and knocked Maurice down.

· He made a few bad choices when it came to chickens….sometimes instinct just had to kick in and he needed to catch one…or two…or ten. Not sure on that one.

· He was notorious for harassing Henry, the donkey. Not quite quick enough once and ended up almost losing his tail. Big vet bill, lots of stitches and a couple scar tissue lumps on his fanny didn’t serve to remind him of much. He was back at it every chance he got.

· He seemed to like to be brained occasionally by the horses. We know that he took at least 2 hoofs to the head if not more. Caused the occasional seizure but seemingly went away.

· He was such a good-looking dog that was one solid bit of muscle that a previous vet wanted to buy him from us. NOT HAPPENING! He could always make them smile.

· He was not a fan of truck rides – inside or in the back. Jumped out going about 30 mph at least once. No injuries there but we learned our lesson…Doc in the car, not in the back. He also felt the need to ride in the baby’s car seat a time or two.

· He got to spend a week as the concubine of a Red Heeler named Wendy and hang out with her family at the Rustic Ranch Furniture Company in Goodlettsville. We were hoping for a little red Doc but we were not so lucky. It is rather ironic that we found out about another liaison with a female about a ¼ mile away that resulted in some rather interesting looking puppies so his legacy will live on…just unofficially and a bit watered down.

· Doc was a scrapper to be sure. He tussled with a few dogs in his time but mostly just coyotes. He was not one to back down from a fight and if he was defending his place, he was fierce! It’s that fierceness that ended up causing this situation that resulted in his early demise. We will never know for sure what or how many animals were involved but coyotes seem to be the most likely to inflict the amount of damage that was done.

Overall I will happily say that he was one of the two best dogs I’ve ever had and will ever have. Pepper being my best ever dog but I’m keeping her as long as I can. Doc was a loving and loyal companion with so much heart and soul that he would do anything for us. So here are a few words by others to ease our loss of Doc.

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Konrad Lorenz, the great expert on animal behavior, said: "It is one of the cruelties of this world that the longevity of our dogs is shorter than ours." The reason behind this great sadness is that there is no another living animal that is so similar to us, that treats us with great affection, never betrays us, and loves us unconditionally.

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Almighty God,We were fortunate to receive the gift of Doc from YouNow that he has left this life,please help us cope with our loss with strength and courage.I know that our beloved companion no longer suffers,and will live on in many fond memories.May he be treated with the care and respectAs he has enriched our lifes, we pray that we may enrich the lives of others. Amen.

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HEAVEN'S DOGGY-DOOR
My best friend closed his eyes last night,

As his head was in my hand.

The Doctors said he was in pain,

And it was hard for him to stand.
The thoughts that scurried through my head,

As I cradled him in my arms.

Were of his younger, puppy years,

And OH...his many charms.
Today, there was no gentle nudge

With an intense "I love you” gaze,

Only a heart that’s filled with tears

Remembering our joy filled days.
But an Angel just appeared to me,

And he said, "You should cry no more,

GOD also loves our canine friends,

HE's installed a 'doggy-door"!
jan cooper '95

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A Parting Prayer
Dear Lord, please open your gatesand call St. Francisto come escort this beloved companionacross the Rainbow Bridge.Assign him to a place of honor,for he has been a faithful servantand has always done his best to please me.Bless the hands that send him to you,for they are doing so in love and compassion,freeing him from pain and suffering.Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss.Help me remember the details of his lifewith the love he has shown me.And grant me the courage to honor himby sharing those memories with others.Let him remember me as welland let him know that I will always love him.And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,please allow him to accompany thosewho will bring me home.Thank you, Lord,for the gift of his companionshipand for the time we've had together.And thank you, Lord,for granting me the strengthto give him to you now.Amen.

Bye buddy...we love you and we miss you! ALWAYS!