Losing a Friend

After nearly 15 years, I lost my Bailey girl.  She was a rescue puppy, originally having been told she was an '8 week old mini sheltie' it was a surprise at her first vets visit to learn she was no more than 5 weeks old!

She was our gentle girl, playful, energetic and hilarious.  The first time we took her to the beach, she discovered her forte - chasing seagulls.  She would casually jog towards a large group of them on the sand not looking at them, but to the side....as if by not looking directly at them, they wouldn't see her.  Of course, the seagulls would start to shriek and take off.  This was a signal that Bailey would tear after them at full speed, scattering them every which way, but never attempting to hurt them!

Our girl also had her own 'party trick'...she smiled.  It was hard to capture on the camera, but she would grin, especially if she or her older brother had done something they shouldn't have!  In fact, she would often tattle on poor Connor by running to us, grinning and then running towards wherever he was doing what he shouldn't.

Bailey would have been the perfect dog for children.  She was so patient, didn't care what you dressed her up in, she was laid back and so easy going.  She was also good at finding things.  At the park she often found things left behind by others that came in handy - the sunglasses she's wearing for example.  She also found a really good fleece hat that, once washed, became good for Dad at work.

I think some of the funniest times were when we came home from being out and discovered someone had been in the rubbish bin....we never could figure out who it was, as Bailey insisted she didn't know....the same 'someone' who had been in the bin had tried to frame Bailey by putting the bin on her head!!  Of course, there were also the times when we came home and there was no bin lid on her head....and no bin lid anywhere else....?  We'd have to hunt around to find it, wherever she'd managed to get it off and either hidden it or left it there!








She was the first dog I could call 'my own'...she wasn't the family dog, although she loved everyone...especially those with food!  She had the most beautiful eyes, as if she was wearing eye liner.  Everyone she met was a new friend.  Everyone she met fell under her spell.  And I shall miss her for the rest of my life....