It is with a heavy heart and through a shade of tears that I commemorate the life and death of the goodest girl I have had the pleasure to have known. My golden retriever of 16yrs had to be put down due to age related ailments. She was unable to stand for herself and she was struggling with control of her bowels. The decision to put her down was not made easily.
Her life was filled with many adventures and good times. Her empathy was so strong that she would lay next to my wife when she was pregnant with my son and let my wife stroke her ears to calm her during her anxiety and morning sickness bouts. She greeted both of my children when they were brought home from the hospital. She sniffed them cautiously and begrudgingly accepted them into our pack. She loved to hang out with my son, and many pictures were taken of them together under his crib. Because of her affection towards him, she earned the nickname Moose by constantly hip-checking him to the ground!
Her empathy continued when she comforted us after the deaths of my father, sister and my father-in-law. She would sense our sadness and forcefully lift our hands with her nose so that we would be resting on her head. She would look up at us with her big brown eyes and smile, trying to lift our spirits. This continued on when she needed to communicate her needs to us, such as needing food, water, or potty.
Brandy accompanied us on many camp outs over the years. She went on 70 different camping trips to 9 different states. She had camped with us in a tent, pop-up, hybrid and travel trailers! She was a true camping dog! Her first trip was to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, 2003. We stayed in a tent with a very pregnant woman and the humidity was horrible! Brandy spent the time eating rocks and getting tangled under the in-laws pop-up camper! Her last trip was to Wisconsin Dells in Wisconsin, 2019. The weather was humid and she still loved to sit outside with me in the mornings and watch the other campers walk by.
She loved the water. It didn’t matter if it was a lake, pond, or swimming pool. She loved to go swimming with me when we camped in Silver Lake. She loved to jump in my Mother-In-Law’s pool. Towards the end I would take her in my Sister-in-Law’s pool and hold her up to float. Her hips and back were starting fail and the strain was getting to be too much.
She will be missed and there will never be another like her.