Gothmog (8,832 posts)
I said goodbye to my bearded collie yesterday
My family has been raising bearded collies for a while. Two of our bearded collies were in the Shaggy Dog movie with Tim Allen (they had 6 dogs trained to do the tricks when Allen was in dog form). I had to say goodbye to my beardie yesterday. He was 15 years old which is a good age for beardie. My dog had a major scare back in May of last year and we put him on nsaids and pain killers. My dog was alert and active until the very end. He had been slipping on the tile some that week and he was laying down when we left for election duty. When we came back from being election judges, my dog could not walk and we knew it was time. Everyone in the family got to say goodbye and I even flew my middle child down from law school in Iowa for the day to be with my dog at the end. I picked up my middle child at the airport at 4 and we were at the vets by 5 in time to say goodbye and be present when the drugs were administered. My daughter caught a plane at 8 this morning and made her afternoon classes.
When my dog was on the show circuit, he was the number 4 or 5 dog for that breed and could have gone to Westminster. My dog had a herding title and enjoyed moving sheep. If you get a chance, you need to watch a herding trial or competition. Beardies are beautiful when they herd compared to border collies who act like wolves when they move the sheep. Beardies bounce when they herd sheep and it is beautiful to watch. It is joy watching these dogs do what they were bred to do.
Until the very end, my dog was active and enjoyed bossing my youngest around. My youngest was 7 when Spencer came to live with us and Spencer considered her to be a puppy who needed to be supervised.
My mistake. Here is a bearded collie:
I prefer the Merrie Melodies version:
In any case, anytime a dog escapes a liberal, it's cause for celebration. Go into the light, buddy. I promise it's not "healing" and "white."
