All dogs go to heaven??

Our dog Max died Friday. He was old, blind in one eye, and arthritic. For the last few months his health declined rapidly so it was really a blessing that he's gone on to the great beyond. I'd like to think he's chasing his sister around and saying in dog-talk "I wondered where you went!"

I'm embarrassed to say that I can't remember exactly when we got Max, I think it was when Ian was in second grade. Here's a photo of him not long after he came to live was us. He was a cute little puppy  who grew into a very big old dog. He was a mix of black lab and chow. His bark was ferocious but I'm not aware of him ever actually hurting anyone or thing unless you count those stuffed animals and baseball caps that he devoured as a puppy. Despite being the bigger dog Max was submissive to his younger, smaller sister. She was a bully and to be honest I don't think he cared one bit that she wasn't around for the last six months of his life!

Max was a family pet but was technically Ian's dog. Of all the family members though, Dale probably gave him the most attention. I wasn't a very good dog mom because I really don't like dogs all that much. But I will admit it's pretty darn quiet around here without the old boy. Right up to the end he wanted to be right in the middle of whatever was going on and as hard as it was for him to get around this last year, he followed me all over the house. every day. all day long.

Friday afternoon Dale and I laid him to rest. We're not like normal people who take their pets to a vet for their final resting place, all of ours are buried in the backyard. In the twenty one years we lived in this house we've laid to rest four cats and two dogs. I guess you could say we have our very own Pet Cemetery, segregated of course, cats on one side of the fence, dogs on the other. If we ever move we should probably point this out to the new homeowner. We wouldn't want them having any unpleasant surprises should they decide to put in a pool or plant new trees in the yard.

Rest in peace Max - enjoy your new life with your siblings who've gone on before you - Murphy. Dusty, Jeffrey, Tiger, and Holly. Spunky says for now she's gonna hang around here and enjoy being an only child!