Sophie
Sophie 5/29/2007 to 8/11/2019
All collies are beautiful. I will miss my sweet Sophie who was so loyal, never asking for anything but love and understanding of who she was – a truly gentle sweet beautiful collie girl. I adopted her at age four and she was my sweetie for eight years. I chose her because she was first of all, so pretty, and second of all she had a curiosity about her. I would imagine that it was a big adjustment for her to move from the country on a small farm where her foster Mom was to a suburb. I never hurried her to mingle in the hustle and bustle of big crowds or events because I found out she preferred her quiet times in her yard or at the local quiet doggie park.
Sophie
Sophie loved her yard and never minded the snow or cold either. She actually liked the cold and didn’t seem phased by the very cold. She charted her territory and was contented to walk it each day if it wasn’t raining. She liked the car rides because she usually knew we were going to the park, loved children and some people, but barked at others. She never failed to alert us when someone that didn’t belong in the neighborhood normally was nearby. She grew to like and play with her toys. She could find the smallest little things in the yard like little toys the kids would drop through the fence. Sometimes it was little tomatoes from the garden. She would play with them. She loved small dogs or puppies, feared the big dogs, but would hang with other dogs of the same temperament and size. People at the dog park sometimes called her Princess because she would sit back and watch all the other dogs and action, but if they got too rowdy she would bark at them as if she was telling them to cut it out. Sophie was a smoothie. Some people who weren’t familiar with the breed often thought that I trimmed her fur that way. Like other collies she was often a couch potato. Ultimately she had one sofa that became hers in the TV room, and don’t you dare sit on her sofa when she was there. She would pace around and around if you were sitting on it and give you the collie eye look until you got off. We would laugh knowing that she would do it each time. Once she had her sofa, she was happy. I loved her dearly. Eight years went too fast. The last year became the hardest as she got older and was diabetic. I managed it for at least two years. May 29th was her birthday and she was 12. I hold the memories near and she will always be my sweetheart. – Julie Sell
Buddy
Yesterday (August 15), was a very sad day for us. Buddy, our first foster and the first collie we adopted went to the rainbow bridge.
Bandit
Sadie Mae
Our Sadie Mae crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. It was a peaceful passing with loving arms around her and sweet whispers in her ears. Our memories of the past six years are much more than we can share today and she was so much more. Sadie came to us in the fall of 2013, after being surrendered by a woman who had found her as a stray. Sadie (aka: Lady) , was a perfectly mannered, gentle, sweet girl who must have been very loved before she came to us. We are sure it was a difficult decision to let her go and we have been very thankful of her previous fur-Mom’s generous heart.
Sadie was always giving and trusting. She loved spending time on the front screened porch giving marching orders to squirrels or offering a surprise vocal “attack” as she announced a bike rider or jogger. She had a keen sense of danger. She woke me one night when a floor stand’s motor seized-up, the smell of hot plastic and the heat from the unit got her attention and then my action before it ignited. Her protective side was sooo tender . . . If one of her stuffies squeaked, as it was stepped on in error by one of us, she would immediately retrieve it and whimper while she carried it around the house until she laid it to rest in a safe location. Never a toy was destroyed: as she would “floss” her teeth in the material gently. She was lovingly spoiled. She would sit ever so patiently for a few Culver’s french fries . . . her favorite treat. We believe she felt safe, respected, and loved.
Sadie’s mobility continued to decline over the last four months and additional health issues were a challenge. Dr. Amber from Lodi Veterinary Care supported Sadie, and us, through her last eight weeks. She was able to offer Sadie improved mobility and even a solid rally in the week before she passed . . . doing things she hadn’t done in many months. We will be forever grateful for Dr. Amber’s caring manner and the treatment modalities she provided to improve Sadie’s last few months.
Our home is definitely feeling the loss of our sweet beautiful girl, but our memories of so many special moments keep her alive in our hearts. Forever our Sadie Mae❣️ – xoxo Janelle & Leah
Maesie and Ollie
It was with great sadness that I sent Maesie (DOB-5-20-03), adopted May of 2010 and Ollie (DOB-6-23-08), adopted July of 2014 to the Rainbow Bridge together on 8-19-19. Maesie at 16+ has had several issues over the last few months and over the prior week had refused to eat and eventually refused to drink anything except water. Ollie has had many health issues from day 1. The one that caused him the most problem was spinal arthritis in all of his feet. We had been doing acupuncture and laser treatments for a couple of years and it was steadily progressing. His walks were short, and getting shorter because his hind legs would give out and lifting a 95# guy was not impossible but becoming a struggle – not only outside but also inside. I had throw rugs all over but it seemed he would find himself in an area w/o one and struggling to get up. Maesie had also gotten to that point after not eating and losing weight but she insisted on a walk most days until the very end.
They were great buddies and Ollie was so solicitous of her. He would lick her ears and she would lean her head into him. I had Maesie for 4 years before Ollie came along. I’ll never forget him getting her to play and even doing a play bow and they chased each other around our backyard. She had never done that before so no question – Ollie was staying. He was a big teddy bear and Maesie was the greeter. When they were younger and we went to the dog parks, I would have to keep a leash on her for a while because she wouldn’t leave the gate area. Someone once suggested that I get her a job at Walmart. Prior to Ollie, Maesie and I traveled with a friend and her dog in her RV around Lake Michigan and we also spent five days at Devil’s Lake. We walked many miles together and I really miss her. Maesie, Ollie and I and another friend spent a week in Door County, walking paths and visiting parks. In the winter when the snow and ice weren’t forgiving with their age – Ollie would pick out a toy and I would roll it down our hallway and they would both chase it. It was so funny to watch because whichever one came back with the toy – I would yell “yay Maesie” or “yay Ollie” and which ever one had it actually had a swagger to their gait as they brought it back to me. They made me laugh.
BUT – time marches on and here I am with many great memories of both of them and still teary and waking up at night about every two hrs because that’s the way it’s been for quite some time. I always hoped their need to go out would be coordinated but seldom did. So I was up in two hours and then again about an hour later 3-4 times a night. But I know my sleep patterns will self correct given time but I still wake up listening for nails clicking on the floor to let me know they need to go out and it isn’t happening. We all grieve – how can one not? They are such a huge part of our lives that it would be callous not to. Anyone with a heart knows and feels that. Right now my house feels horribly empty. My living room as my vet saw it when he came for the house call said it looked like a hospice center – which it kind of was. Beds – either raised or comfort foam so they had a choice and fans. My floors are a mess but they will get cleaned. All in due time. After everything is caught up – I will be looking to foster/adopt again.
In the meantime, I want to pass on two quotes that I found recently. The first is by Rumi; “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.”
The other is by Ram Dass: “We are all just walking each other home.”
Thank you for listening and sharing and I know you have all been here in this moment in time with someone dearly loved.
Sweet Hyland went to the Rainbow Bridge in June. She was adopted in 2012.
Guiness
When I adopted Guinness (known as Jazz with MWCR), I had no idea that he was an angel on earth. I was just a few months removed from the end of a long-term relationship and feeling lost and directionless in life. I had always had a soft spot for collies, so I applied to adopt through MWCR. The rescue thought Jazz might be a good fit, and something about him told me I should drive the 3+ hours to meet him his foster home in Illinois. I knew right away this was the one. I picked him up later that week on a dangerously cold February night, and I remember glancing back at him on my truck’s back seat and seeing a questioning look on his face. He wasn’t sure about our new arrangement. Later that night, I finally pulled into my driveway and walked him into the house. He stood and looked around the living room, surveying his new home, still clearly unsure about the night’s events. An hour later, he was curled up across my legs on my couch, calm and content.
Guinness was my best friend and my rock for more than 12 years. I never had a bad day at work because he was there to greet me every night when I got home. He was my shadow in everything I did. He was as close to a perfect dog as I think can possibly exist. He was gentle. He was intelligent. He was sensitive. He was loving. I always thought he was an “only-dog dog”, because he’d spend more time walking up to people for his favorite butt rubs at the dog park than he did playing with other dogs. But then I heard about another dog needing a home in late 2015 (when Guinness was nearly 11 years old), I brought him to meet the new dog. Guinness was wonderful with him. From that day forward, Guinness accepted Macree into his home and his life. There was never a growl exchanged between them. Guinness knew he wasn’t being replaced. That would be impossible.
When Guinness began to get sick in August of 2018, I knew the twilight was coming. His back legs were giving him trouble, so I got a body harness that would allow me to carry him up and down the stairs everyday and to help him up when it was icy last winter. He took a turn for the worse in late February of this year and another one a week later. I rushed him to the emergency vet, who told me that he had aspiration pneumonia and, because of his laryngeal paralysis, would be susceptible to another bout any time he drank water. She also said that the humidity of a Wisconsin summer would make him more and more uncomfortable. She was honest with me that there would be many more bad days than good days ahead for him. I had been trying for months to prepare myself, but it still hits like a ton of bricks when you have to make good on your promise to say goodbye when it’s time. I tried to be composed for him, to say goodbye with the grace and dignity that he deserved, but I was a mess. The moment the vet said she couldn’t hear his heartbeat anymore will live with me forever.
Despite all of that sadness, I would choose him again and again and again, knowing the ending. He gave me so much love when I needed it most, and never asked anything in return. Someone said to me, “If your love could keep Guinness alive, he would live forever”. He does, in my heart and now on my arm. I thank MWCR for giving me the opportunity to adopt Guinness many years ago. He was the best boy.
