Thursday, March 27, 2014

Note to My Dog on His 14th Birthday

I took my last final at LSU ever - Agronomy - early so I could go pick him up.
We went to obedience and agility classes 3x/week with the infamous Dick Russell.
  The only dog to beat him in contests was my Wildlife and Fisheries professor's duck dog.
We would snorkel in the Caribbean together, he would jump in my car window when it was time to go anywhere.
  Sometimes he made mistakes and went into other people's cars
He had his own social life at the beach, people would approach me and say OH, You're Rebel's owner.
His full name is Terbo Oran Rebel - Terbo for the kennel, Oran means music in Gaelic.
  Rebel Music is a nod to Bob Marley, I knew he would be a Caribbean dog.
He once saved my life by chasing a burglar out of my bedroom.
We played in snow in Missouri, the Fall leaves in South Carolina, the bars of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
  Here in Lafayette it's the neighborhood kids.
Man we've been through so much, I look back on 14 years and travels and experiences and so much pain he was there with me through. Becoming a doctor. Becoming a mother. My one constant in life. My everloving companion.
He's now in his dotage, and deaf. Sleeps a lot. Arthritis in his right knee. He still follows so close, almost tripping me, and now more dangerous than ever because I'm easier to trip since I'm walking without a cane! But not to worry, my responsibility to him is to give him the best quality of life possible, he won't be forgotten in his old age. Or ever.

Happy 14th Rebel!


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