Katy; She Died in July 2008
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
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.
