Daisy…………………………………………………….with love by Pam Todd

She’s gone. Our Daisy. Eleven going on twelve. Perhaps, the vet said, when he came to our house that day, that she had developed cancer of the pancreas as much as a year ago. He said that was a common occurrence in dogs Daisy’s size, as well as retrievers and other dogs of similar size. Feeling her abdomen, he knew. We had noticed her decline only recently and had made an appointment for the vet to come and see her. But, time was not on Daisy’s side, nor ours.

Up until a couple of years ago, Daisy loved to catch a frisbee in mid-air. She was so agile and athletic. She never missed catching it. When she brought it back, she would play keep-a-way with it, and it was a real effort to try to get it away from her to throw it again. We used to do this every day!

Daisy’s best buddy was Bob. She rarely left his side. Wherever he went, she would go…..down to the utility room to do laundry; outside to work; to the bathroom to lie patiently while he conducted his business there! On her last day, they sat on the porch together. She could barely walk. He got up and left the porch, and she followed him about twenty feet, and then had to lie down. He cried to realize that she would follow him with the last bit of strength in her body.

Daisy loved watching over her dominion of two acres, especially from the porch, out the window, and in the back by the pine trees. As a young dog, she would chase the deer that like grazing in our yard, and eating the fruit from the apple and pear trees. She would take off like a shot, and they would run, leaping through the yard and into the woods. She would come back panting. She never caught one! She was a good mole finder, though, and many met their demise at her skillful digging and sense of smell and movement under her feet. During the summer months, she would nuzzle me about 6 a.m. because she knew I liked to get up early and go outside and work in the flower areas. She loved going with me because she knew we would be out there at least two hours! Funny thing, though, on the days I wasn’t home, she never nuzzled Bob at 6 a.m! He doesn’t get up that early. Daisy was one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever known.

She never told me she didn’t like it when I put some of my crocheted creations on her for a photo shoot, so I just kept making her my model. A beautiful one she was, too.

Daisy’s other best buddy was Eddie. We knew that he knew she was sick in the last few months because they had stopped playing that nightly game of growling at each other and trying to nip one another. Eddie was inside after the vet left, and Bob, Jill, and I had gently placed her in the ground and covered her with a rug, tears dropping like rain, as we placed the dirt over her. It had been hard, knowing that she was not going to be with us, and finally making the decision to let her leave us in peace and dignity. Even though Eddie was not outside during her last moments, just this week, as he and Bob went out for a walk, Eddie went to Daisy’s grave and lay down on top of it. Dogs know, and they grieve, too.

Daisy was our girl. We loved her, and we miss her. Daisy – October 28, 2010.