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Jacob and Katy are looking for something

     This is Jacob and Katy searching for I don’t know what in the back yard. It looks as if she found something though; it could be a grasshopper or worm. Jake is coming over to look at it–whatever it is.
     You have to admit they were very cute. Katy, like me, loved being outside, especially when she had someone to play with. Jake always played with her when he got to come over. Did I mention that Jake is mom’s grandson? If I didn’t, I’m telling you now. They (Katy and Jake–not mom) grew up together–Jake is now a senior at Smithville High School, which is in Texas. When Jake wasn’t around, Paul or mom would play ball with Katy.
     Katy, like me, loved to play ball. She (so mom told me) had so many balls, she never knew which one to play with first. She had footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, squeaky balls, sparkly balls, plain balls–oh, she really had a lot of balls. She was taught to catch a ball when it was thrown (me, unless it’s close, I won’t even try to catch it). When Katy got bigger, she could run very fast, Paul would throw a ball, and Katy would catch it. I bet that was really something to see. Mom said Katy looked like a golden streak running across the lawn. But, she certainly didn’t look like that when dad wanted her to swim with him. As a matter of fact, Katy, like me, would run the other way.
     She, also like me, didn’t like the water; there was too much of it. She preferred to swim in mom’s bathtub where the water was warm and had lots of bubbles (like me, too). Besides, mom always let Katy have a ball in the water with her; I don’t want a ball while I’m taking a bath. When I play ball, I play ball, and when I take a bath, I take a bath. And, mom said Katy always smelled so good when mom finally took Katy out of the bubbly water; mom doesn’ tell me that. She would get a towel and dry her as much as possible (she was very hairy like Wooly and unlike me), and then mom would brush Katy’s hair all the while talking to her about how pretty she was and how much she loved her. Those were good days.
     Not that nowadays are not good; they are. But, like mom, I miss Katy.

Mom just told me a story that is kinda hard to believe; you’ll see why.

Mom has another girl–a human girl–in her life that she loves very much, too. Well, anyway, this girl–her name is Melody if you’re interested–emailed mom and wanted mom to send her a story about Katy. Katy, if you will recall, is my Golden Retriever sister that is now with God. If you don’t believe that there is a place for dogs in heaven, you are wrong. And here’s why:

God creates everything, including furry people like me. I realize most humans don’t want to admit we have feelings or souls, but we do. By we, I mean all animals; just keep in mind that humans are animals as well. At any rate, God created all of us, and why would He decide He loves one animal more than another? Humans can do this, but He can’t. Well, I don’t believe He did. So, it stands to reason, if there is a heaven for humans (and there is), and He loves this upright animal (which He does), and He created me (which He did), then why would He just limit our time to be together on earth (He wouldn’t)?

I mean, if you had the choice, wouldn’t you choose to be with the ones you love while you are alive and after you’re not? Of course, you would. That’s my point–wherever mom goes, I will go because that is what she wants, and Katy will be there wagging her tail, grinning, and waiting to lick me on the head again. And all the ones before Katy will be there, too. But, to get back to my story that’s hard to believe, listen carefully.

I can’t believe Melody wanted a story on Katy (although she certainly deserves it) and not me. I can be jealous if I want because there are no Ten Commandments for furry people.

Katy and Samson taking a stroll in the little backyard.

Mom was looking through her pictures (she has tons of them) and found this one. She started talking about Katy and Samson, so I thought I’d put this one up here so you could see them.

Katy is the Golden Retriever mom is always talking and writing about. Samson is a Blue Merle Great Dane. Since both of these much-loved pets are in the canine graveyard up by the frontyard fence (mom misses them a lot), mom talks about them a lot. She tells me if she talks about them, then they stay alive in her mind as they will always be alive in her heart. Samson belonged to mom’s son Jason, but Samson lived with us a lot. Jason lived in an apartment most of the time, and so Samson stayed with us. In fact, he is the reason dad fenced in the big back yard. I have a lot to say about Samson, but it will have to wait til next time; mom has to tell me first.

She was very interested in Animal Planet and watched it whenever she could.

Katy is a Golden Retriever. I say “is” because she will never die in my heart. She was the most wonderful, playful, lovable, and forgiving dog I have ever had the pleasure of being around.

She would do anything I wanted to do whether it was to take a nap on mom’s bed or go outside and watch the cars and trucks go up and down the road outside our fence.

When we were on mom’s bed, she would snuggle up to me (just barely touching some part of me) to reassure me that I wasn’t alone anymore. When I showed up at mom’s back door one cold and rainy November afternoon, Katy was the one who welcomed me into the family. She just walked right up to me and kissed me on the head. She had no way of really knowing that some human had thrown me away and left me alone on a country road to fend for myself. I guess that Whoever watches out for helpless creatures led me to mom’s door and Katy.

And play–Katy loved to play ball, and I learned to love it, too, with Katy’s help. We would go out in our front yard; Katy would run up by the road and drop her ball. Eventually, I learned to run very fast pretending I was going to get the ball and run away with it. I would get almost up to the ball, and then Katy would grab it and run someplace else in the yard far away from where she was and then drop it again. I would wait a few seconds and start charging towards her; she would pick it up again and run and drop it somewhere else. Our game would last until I decided not to play anymore; Katy would never be the first one to quit.

Lovable has to be a word invented especially for Katy. She never growled (unlike Wooly), was never belligerent (like Hilde), selfish (like Kasha), or jealous (like me). Just the look on Katy’s face would make anyone want to pet her, dote on her, and eventually love her more than anyone else. She had such gorgeous hair; mom would comb and brush it until it actually gleamed. Katy loved to be brushed, too. I never was jealous of her or the attention she got. I guess it was because she was never jealous of me.

Forgiving has to another word invented just for Katy. She never held a grudge against anyone or any human. Sometimes Wooly would growl at her, and Katy would just lie down next to him–kinda like a lamb lying next to a lion. Soon, Wooly would get over whatever he had growled at her for doing in the first place. Katy was the same with Hilde and Kasha, too. Whatever they would do, Katy would just lie close by until they got over it. And, I believe, Katy was the reason there was always an air of love and forgiveness in our house. I learned a lot from her. I miss her.

I caught mom crying last night. I wanted to ask her why but didn’t know how. I think it must have had something to do with Katy, my Golden Retriever sister; she’s not here anymore. She died right after her 16th birthday in July of this year. I heard mom mention Katy’s name to dad, and then mom got all sad.

I remember Katy; she was so nice. She never growled, bit, or bullied anybody. She was practically perfect in all that she did. When I first got here, she was the only one that loved me at first sight besides mom, that is. She would play with me, go outside with me even when she didn’t need to, and snuggle up to me; making me feel safe. At first, she shared her balls with me and even showed me how to play with them. Later on, though, she didn’t want to play anymore. All she did was lay around–always where she could see mom. I guess she just didn’t feel like doing anything.

Then one day mom put Katy in the car and took her to an emergency hospital. It was the weekend, and our vet wasn’t on call. They were gone a long time, but when they came back, Katy just sorta sat on her bed in the TV room; I guess she didn’t want to lay down. But, maybe she couldn’t lay down because she was breathing so hard. She wouldn’t eat, drink, get up (I guess she couldn’t), or maybe she just didn’t want to to anything. I don’t really know what she wanted; I took her my favorite ball, but I guess she didn’t want to play anymore either. I went to find Katy’s favorite ball; maybe she would play after all.

Then, I heard mom making sounds I had never heard her make before. I went into the TV room. and Katy was in mom’s lap. Mom was holding her, petting her, rocking her back and forth, and crying. I tried to kiss mom and Katy, but dad put Hilde, Kasha, and me outside.

After that, the only thing I am sure of is that Katy is not here, and mom is very sad.