Sunny is OK

One of the most frequent questions I got/get after we lost Brodi, was/is "How's Sunny?"  Sunny (Audie Murphy See You At Sundown) will be eight in September, and Brodi was always there, always in his life since he was a puppy, since we brought him home at nine weeks old.  Sunny has always been number two. Now he's the only one.  That has brought on some unusual behavior.  We all still look for Brodi in his normal places, wait for him to bark when the doorbell rings, listen for his clicky-clack ridgeback nails when it's time eat.  But overall, I think Sunny's OK.  Has he grieved? Yes, I think so.  We all have.  But we've got on with it, established new routines, new walking patterns and times, but there will always be something missing.  No matter what.  Always something missing. But we're OK. We have to be. All of us, including Sunny.

The Short Walk

The ferocity of the past winter is no stranger to any of us. It was a bad winter, and the effects of it can still be felt and seen.  Walking outside was difficult, unlike previous years, in milder winters, when I could walk with the dogs almost daily.   I have recounted walking with Brodi and Sunny on this blog before.  Walking the dogs is a huge part of my life.  Most days, it’s a twice a day event.  But now, well, time has taken its toll.   Brodi is twelve, a ripe old age for a hundred pound dog.  By all accounts, and a total of our daily miles, we have walked the equivalent of the width of the United States and half way back again.  That would put us in the Midwest, home, right where we started.  And it’s time to stop, to rest.  Brodi is on the short walk now.  He can make it down the end of the street and back, but even those days are numbered.  He still wants to go, but there’s no question that the journey causes him pain that can’t be relieved.  

One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is leave him behind, and go on a journey with just Sunny at my side.  The long walk will never be the same again.  Even the two year old next door notices that there's something missing these days, "Larry (sounds like Warry), where's your other puppy?" he calls out as Sunny and I walk by... "He's resting," I answer..."He's resting."

For now, Brodi is comfortable on his love seat, and we enjoy every second of every day that he is still with us.

Before The Wind Came

I walk here every day with the dogs.  Only skeletons remain.  They are calling for snow this week.  I'm not sure I'm ready.