A tribute to our fallen head of the household

About six months back, I had to put down our yellow lab Jackie. She was thirteen and her quality of life had been slowly fading. Definitely had one of those "Old Yeller" moments and can honestly say she is thought of daily. She was here with the birth of all four of my children...god bless her. She put up with the pulling of the ears and tails with the "patience of job" and because of it, at least one of the kids will mention her at dinner or bedtime prayers.

We adopted a black lab several years ago to keep Jackie company and with Christmas on the horizon, the thought of a new puppy is being loomed over. Don't know what Santa will bring, but I wanted to remenisce a little about Jackie to help in making the decision.

So there was the time, when I didn't believe in crate training, that she decided to redecorate our kitchen. She shortened all the wooden chair legs several inches, rounded off the corners of the window sill, wanted to see what was behind the drywall, and took out the rubber seal between the refrigerator door and body.

I'll never forget coming home from work only to find rope all over the back yard from the new hammock I got for Father's Day. She had a lot of fun that day.

The time we took a road trip together and drove from Dallas to North Dakota straight for 25 hours. She became a "lap" dog that trip, but prepared me for having kids. I had to keep her entertained, so whenever we stopped for gas we would play catch for 10-15 minutes. Amazing how  spending a little bit a time can be so appreciated, but just like a child, give 'em a little and they never want to stop.

When we were throwing the stick at the lake and she slipped on a moss covered stone. She blew out here right rear knee and needed a transplant. Fifteen hundred dollars later, she had a titanium knee and I became one of "those" pet owners. You know the ones....

When she demonstrated she was more than just another city dog. We were bowhunting in Colorado  and every afternoon we'd practice crazy shots through all the aspens. Over the years, we lost so many arrows that before we make the trip, you would always order an extra dozen or so just for the "comptetition" shoots. Well, I always knew Jackie had a good nose on her, but this day she became a legend at the cabin with her retrieval of about a half-dozen arrows that had clanked off the aspen branches. It was truly amazing watching her work.

Or when I would leave for work and she would be at the front window and then come home she would be the first one to the door. She never asked for much, but gave more than all of us deserve.

Well, I guess a puppy is about to bless our humble home!