...to say goodbye

...to our very best friend.

These last few days were so awfully hard.

Timber was....such an important part of our family.

Mark and I have had her as long as we have been married.  Shortly after we married in July, 1998 we moved cross-country to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.  We found we were lonely.  We missed our friends.  We missed our family.  We decided to add our first addition to our family.

In August, 1998 we drove to a shelter in San Luis Obispo, California and Mark picked out the most poorly behaved dog that he could find at the shelter.  He claimed that since he had never in his whole life had a dog, that this was his opportunity to get exactly what he wanted.

That's the story of how we ended up with Timber.

Timber was a terrible young dog.  She was less than a year old, yet full grown mutt.  Mostly German Shepherd and we think part Sheltie.  We'll never really know.

We do know she was just awful.

She never slept.

She ate everything in sight.  Shoes, remote controls, rugs, video tapes...

And she would dart out the door the moment some unsuspecting soul opened the door.

She was never tired.

Timber lived this tempo of life until about the time that Isabella was born (over four years later).

At this point in her life she must have had some sense of 'maternal' instinct kick in.  Since this was about the time her meanie instinct toward other dogs emerged.

This was not her most spectacular trait.

In spite of these traits...we adored her.  She was athletic.  So incredibly soft.  Funny.  Empathetic.  Watchful.  Loyal.

She was our companion.  She has been here, home waiting for us each day for over sixteen years.

Tonight, our house is quiet.  There is no clickety clack from her nails on the floor.  She isn't pacing back-and-forth window to window.  She isn't barking at Will to get her a treat.

I wonder how long it will take before we quit looking for her in all her usual spots?  Until we stop calling for her when we drop food on the floor?  Until we stop expecting her to be in the window waiting for us when we come home?

We were so lucky to have been blessed with her for so long.

It was so hard to say goodbye.

We will love and miss her forever.