V Conni vom alten Turnerplatz, SchH3, KK1-RIP - Page 3

One book I read on Shepherds had this as a forward:

"To all the beloveds

who have gone on before

Lord but there will be deaf angels

when you lift up your head and bark...."

hodie,  i was very sadden to read what happened to your dogs - 2 so close together is very challenging.  it's so hard when they go suddenly.  very sorry for your loss. my first pure breed gsd was "the love of my life" (much to my dh's dismay - lol) he died too young 8 1/2 yo  (long story having to do with toxins & his kidneys and heart) it been many years now and it's still hard for me to talk about him without tearing up; he'll probably be one of the last thought i have:) again very sorry for your loss - take care, susan

Shelley,i do not know you,i do not know your lovely girl,but i do know how you are feeling.Deepest,heart felt sympathies,and just think of the good company she is now with. liz

I am very sorry for your loss - it pains me to even think about it but lukily I have never had to do that. I can't bear to even think about how it must feel.

Shelley, my deepest condolences to you. I was honored to be at the other end of Conni's leash just once, when you put on the sleeve to let a novice feel what it was like....even at her advanced age then, she was thrilling! What a teacher she was! And she had such joy in her work...what a tremendous loss. My heart goes out to you. Glorious, noble Conni, she always had the 'look of eagles'. I cry with you......jackie harris

Thank you all for the kind words. My friend and kennel girl Jen took the whole day off her job yesterday to drive us to the vet, and then stayed all day to keep my company, clean and scrub Conni's run, a few odds and ends around the kennel. Jen had not known Conni when she was young, so I pulled up a hundred or so pix of her working and goofing off, laughed over  a few silly Conni stories, kind of had a doggy wake with a plate of shrimp scampi with too much fresh garlic, did in a couple bottles of wine. You guys are lucky you can't smell breath over the internet.

My favorite story was the morning I came in and found a dead raccoon in the water bucket next to Conni's food dish. It had a broken neck. I had Fish and Game test its head, certain any animal dumb enough to try to get into Conni's dinner had to be either rabid or demented. It still had the one morsel of dog foor in its mouth when they did the autopsy. Luckily it tested disease free, just one very foolish racoon. Conni brought quite a few novice handlers, kids and helpers into the sport during her semi-retirement. She was one of those push-button dogs, always clean, never handler agressive or overly dog agressive. She did a SchH demo for our little neighbor girl at the elementary school for a school project about 5 years ago. That little girl is now one of the best handlers I know, although more interested in boys these days than dogs. Tyical teenager.

Here are some pix of Conni in better days. She is gone, but will never be forgotten. Her daughters, Portia and Ali, are just like her, same full grips, strong barking, speed and power, drive to spare, very dark eyes and impish expressions, only both gray instead of black and gold. Both lift their legs and mark the landscape too, just like Mom. I will breed her daughter Portia (a Pallo dughter) to Carol this winter, keep a puppy and give a couple of others to friends in the sport who knew and loved Conni.

I wish I was one of those very talented people who can create slide-show tributes with music and titles to honor my dogs, but I am not...

      Downtime at the river                                      Portia is in there somewhere...

Winter

I am sorry that you have lost your Conni.  She will be there for you as the family member she is when your foot hits the Bridge.

Veronica

So sorry for your loss!!!

Your stories and tribute are beautiful!!!

She was stubborn and rotten tot he core sometimes, just like me. I was fine till the expected sympathy card arrived from the vet only half a day after we left... with a card inside that had her right front paw print on it. I completely LOST IT, finally let go and bawled like a baby. Cathartic... Nice, caring touch, but a little too soon.

Thank you all for your thoughts and kind words.

SS

SS

Having a pet's offspring is easier to let go, I tend to think and many don't want to admit.