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Goodbye, Ashley
267 (1190)Today I've done what has been unthinkable for so long, but became inevitable in the end: I've said goodby to my best canine friend ever, my dear Ashley.
Read my previous two blog posts if you want to know why this was necessary, because I don't really want to repeat that, I just want to re-live good memories.
I've known a lot of dogs in my life, but Ashley was special, really special. The sweetest soul ever, the easiest to get along with, extremely tolerant, with the most expressive dog face I've ever seen - so many different expressions, and I knew them all. We understood each other, we spent as much time together as we could.
I'll miss her wagging tail, seeing the expectant look on her face when I woke up, her sweet presence, her ... well, it's too much to write, really. For over ten years she was my companion and my friend, and she was very good at both.
Here are some photographic highlights from her life...
Chasing a low-flying bird on a beach near the river Waal:
Dripping wet from a swim:
During the golden hour at the end of a day, modeling for me on a bale of hay:
With my daughter's dog, Joy:
Backlit, in front of some reeds:
Ashley, you were beautiful on the inside and on the outside, and you'll be missed - sorely missed. Goodbye, my friend. Rest in peace.
Tags: Ashley, Best, Canine, Companion, Dog, Friend, Rip
Comments
What a lovely tribute to a much loved dog. I had my beloved Spinone - Kes PTS in April aged 12. Still can't bear to see his pictures. He too was a very special dog and so I know how it feels.
They just dont live long enough. Ashley loved and was clearly very loved, and after all that is all any of us can hope for in this life.
I would love to come up with some comforting words but this has bought back memories of losing our two and I can't stop my eyes watering.
So sad, I'm so sorry Conrad. This is a lovely tribute and what a wonderful dog she was. I know how painful this must be but good memories you will have to look back on. xx
Thanks, K, and I do indeed have so many good memories to look back on. And that's what I prefer, reminding myself how Ashley enriched my life, instead of wallowing in grief. I had to shed tears over her, but joy over a dog's life lived to the full, and over human lives enriched by it, dominate.
And Sus, however much I like Kipling's poem, in view of the above my heart doesn't feel torn - on the contrary. Ashley was able to mend mine when it needed mending, and she has a special place in it, and always will have that special place. It's a bit more twee than Kipling's poem, but I rather like the thought behind this poem that a friend sent me:
When God had made the earth and sky the flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals and all the birds and bees.
And when His work was finished Not one was quite the same.
He said "I'll walk this earth of mine and give each one a name."
And so he travelled land and sea and everywhere He went
a little creature followed Him until its strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth and in the sky and sea,
The little creature said: "Dear Lord, There is not one left for me."
The Father smiled and softly said "I've left you to the end,
I've turned my own name back to front
And called you DOG, my friend."
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