Our Paddy

Everyone needs their photo in the bluebonnets, even Paddy Finn.

If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

~ Will Rogers

"Come get this dog," insisted my baby brother. "You need a guard dog who can see and hear."*

A young chocolate lab mix had wandered up to his house and he had no fence. After a visit to the vet we agreed to adopt the dog and rigged an enclosure on MC's pickup so we could get her home. Paddy, named so because we got her on St. Paddy's Day (in 2005) became a part of the family.

Paddy was a lot of things. She was a good barker. She had loads of energy. She was a love (and thought she should be able to sit in your lap). She was smart enough as she could sit and fetch and knew at least two words - "Paddy" and "cookie."

She was good company on walks. And we walked.

Paddy went into a depression as she mourned Oreo's death in early 2010. And she developed some anxiety issues. She began to fear loud noises, escaping the yard when neighbors set-off fireworks or the skies sent thunderstorms. [After one such escape she was missing for two days. We searched the pounds and prepared flyers. We didn't have to "paper the neighborhood" as two days were enough absence and she came home covered in "beggar's lice."]

At some point we thought she might do better with a companion so we invited Scruffy to join us in the summer of 2012. She didn't know what to think of him. Each dog attempted to establish dominance before they agreed that I was the Alpha anyway and they would share Beta status. Paddy's anxiety did not go away, but she seemed to enjoy having a friend.

If you are a regular reader here, you have come on some of our walks. This blog address honors Paddy (sometimes Padimus) and began as a place to save the stories of our walks.

If you are a regular reader, you also know that we lost Scruffy in January. We were able to take one final wild run at the wildlife area before the strokes became too much for Scruff.

But Paddy's illness did not allow us that last walk so I post these photos of some of our final adventures.

Two old dogs running wild.

Keep up.

Heading to the creek for a swim.

That was tasty!

"Hey! Look what I found!"

"Paddy, put that bone down! Leave it!"

Heading back for a cookie.

Good smells.

Alerting on something in our neighborhood park.

Heading back home.

Running.

Sometimes she was too fast for the camera.

Always happy to see we were headed to the park or wildlife are and NOT the vet.

Swimming with friends at the creek - Hugo, Ruby and Stanley.

Paddy knew that TDW always had treats.

"Here is a nasty smell. Let me roll in it."

"Get up, Paddy!"

More bluebonnet photos.

Sometimes it's had to get them to pose.

This is how I will remember them.

Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.

~ Dean Koontz

NOTES:

*DH was heading to central Asia for a year and our family dog, Oreo was, indeed, losing her sight and her hearing.