The Peanut Gallery: For the Love of a Dog

"A good dog brings so much to a family. Soft and warm, with eyes so bright. Companionship, love. Long, quiet walks. Shared rainy morning jaunts with soggy ears and muddy feet. Purebred, mutt, it doesn't really matter. So many breeds. They all give us unconditional love. It is indeed a dog's life. And we're lucky to share it."

We were indeed lucky to share the life of Oliver, who was put to rest today at the age of 9. He was a great dog and will be greatly missed.

Oliver's life was not an easy one. At the age of 2 (or was it 3?) he had surgery on his knee. He had problems with one of his feet for a while after a log landed on it and split his nail up into the toe. We took him to the vet once with a mystery injury on his hindquarters ....... the vet said he was probably shot with a bb gun. And he was once lost for 5 days after he was let outside unsupervised and wandered off.

Ollie was such a good dog too. Okay... so when he was young he ate all the fake apples off the Christmas tree, and then knocked the tree over trying to chew on the lights. And yes, he would get a loaf of bread off the counter and eat it if you left it out when you went away. But he was a GOOD dog.

I just know that Oliver is now in a place with woods to run in, and sprinklers to run through, and hoses to drink from, and couches to lay on with warm blankets to snuggle under. And I'm sure he's already hooked up with Gizmo, Einstein, Tucker, and Jasmine.

God Bless you Ollie.... we miss you.

Oliver as a pup with "Grandpa" Gizmo......