Hootie (heidi)

She was a small female, loving, and somewhat shy...tough as nails, non-demanding, sometimes annoying with her vocalness....cat-like in her affection, the sweetest, most doting mother and our friend. When I was in the U.P. Ted brought her in to the house and she enjoyed her new status. Well mannered, lacking any aggressiveness to man or beast, she mothered all things, even us.
I'd noticed that she'd been losing weight...she seemed to be eating, though not as aggressively as usual. Ted noticed it too when she was inside those couple days. So off to the vet!
He listened to her lungs, frowned and asked me if she'd been coughing a lot. I hadn't noticed any coughing except when she drank water a couple of times. After blood work, X rays and other tests, we found out that our little girl had a "massive tumor" in her lung. Dr. Lepley called me in, showed me the radiograph, explained the prognosis, and said he couldn't believe that she didn't present with other symptoms. But, that is her "MO"...she never complained.
The tumor started at the base of her heart, probably 6-9 months ago...it rendered a lung virtually useless, her heart was sagging onto her sternum, and her esophagus was displaced and probably made it very difficult eat at all. The decision was made to give her the relief she deserved, and so it was done. Ted made it there so he could say goodbye, and be with her too.
We buried her near her friends that have also passed on...and in spite of the heavy hearts we bear today, we are grateful for the time we got to spend with our little silver dog....grand-daughter of the great Beowulf.
It never really surprises me what we learn from each of these dogs that we share our lives with.
For each life that we are responsible for, we have been taught what grace, dignity and loyalty really mean....that living in the moment is the best way to live....loving is constant and without conditions...forgiveness is peace. How can you not miss them, when they are suddenly gone? SO much is taken, but MORE was given.
The young receptionist at the Vet's office asked me how I could stand it...she found it unbearable and couldn't imagine having so many dogs to care for and know that life will end for all of them sooner or later. I told her that I don't think about the "end"...and try to enjoy and APPRECIATE every minute I get with them...you love them, care for them and try to give them the best quality of life you are capable of...that is really all you can do. With life, eventually there will be death...you can let it drag you down now, or push it to the very end, where it belongs. It is never "easy" and I hope it NEVER gets easy to lose a loved one.
So thank you Heidi for the years we had, and while I'm not so sure there IS a heaven for us humans, I'm certain that there has to be one for dogs, as they are much closer to perfect than we will ever be.

'nother photo

You can see Canada in the upper right of the picture. Almost as cool as seeing Russia from your backyard...huh?

Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior

Thanks to a generous musher, we were able to have a girls weekend camping at the most beautiful area in the U.P. (imo) Tara, Linda, Blaine (NOT a girl...but he knows the trails, and is fun to be around anyway) and I headed up on Friday a.m. in the rain and wind. Once we got to the campsite, we dropped the dogs, unloaded the ATV's and went for a ride to see the trails while it was still light. WOW. The trails are just gorgeous...stunning scenery and little critters to keep the dogs interested, Lake Superior along side the trail in most parts, and deep beach sand for the dogs to swim through on parts of it too. Friday night, we didn't even try to make a fire...it was so windy and wet. The wind roared through the tree tops all night, and a couple of times tried to lift the tent. The waves were huge, and crashing along the shoreline. SO much power in them! So loud! Surprisingly, the dogs didn't seem nervous at all. We hooked up our teams on Saturday morning for the first run, and it was a blast! They were tired when we got back, as well as wet (we all were!) That deep sand really gave them a good workout,
After a few hours of rest for the dogs, we went out again for a shorter run. Linda and Blaine had gotten a nice fire going that afternoon, so we had our "hobo" dinners and sat around the fire in the rain. At least the wind died down. Sunday we woke up to a lovely autumn day...even got some sunshine...though just to remind us where we were, a light sprinkle of rain would pass over. On this day, we all went out separately, confident that we knew the trail well enough and wouldn't end up in Canada. I was the first team out, and we made it to the shore with one small wrong turn....Fiona wanted to go the right way, but I asked her to turn the wrong way. (Pilot error!) Once we got to the Lake, we proceeded along the shore. The dogs kept looking at the lake, but the waves were only about 1-2 feet. I gave the "gee" command and they eagerly entered the water and drank their fill, cooling off their feet too. Standing there, with my best buddies, surrounded by the wild beauty, the sun overhead sparkling on the water...it was really hard to imagine having to leave and go back.

Of course, as all good things must end way too soon, we were packed up and heading back by 3 p.m. The best weekend is a weekend with the dogs...and this was one I will always remember and cherish having had the chance to do it. Thanks to all who made it possible!!