9/13/95 ~ 6/9/09

When Sandy and I first met over a dozen years ago, we had four dogs between us. In fact, the dogs were why and how we met, walking in the same neighborhood. And over the years our interaction with and affection for our dogs taught us as much about ourselves as it did about each other. Those original four dogs were, are now and always will be a big part of who we are, as individuals and as a couple.

The young Scooter was an athlete. I'll never forget how impossibly excited he got in the car when the smooth hum of highway turned to the unmistakable crunch of gravel as we neared a Terrier Trial. Racing dogs have to wear muzzles, and he was nearly unmuzzleable. He wasted so much energy fighting to get to the races that it's amazing he could finish, let alone win. But win he did, early and often. As he got older, he became less competitive but he always loved the races. And his affinity for a gravel road, long removed from its original source of excitement, never left him.

He was also ornery. I looked up his registration this morning to get his birth date right. Pine Hill Scooter. Personality Traits: Aggressive w/ other dogs. I also looked up 'Ornery' to make sure it was accurate: bad tempered and combative; stubborn. Yep, ornery. Some dogs are easy to love. Others are more of an acquired taste. For me, in all honesty, it took probably five years for Scooter to work his way fully and irrevocably into my heart. And maybe because it didn't come easily, the bond ultimately seemed doubly strong. Like the difference between a hand-rubbed oil finish on a piece of furniture and a thick coat of paint. As much as I loved my dogs, I found myself starting to hope that the universe would see fit to let Sandy's beloved Scooter, that cranky bastard, live the longest.

We of course moved through life and inevitably started losing those 'charter' dogs - a young Jasmine early on, old Junior many years later and Sierra most recently. And the tough, cantankerous baby outlived them all. But today we had to say goodbye. My heart aches for Scooter, but it flat out breaks for Sandy.

I take strength at such times by reminding myself that we are different, better, for having known all of them. And Scooter's place in our history will always be extra special. His loss will be deeply felt. The end of a good, full life. The end of an era. We love you, Scooter. Rest in peace.