Acknowledgements for a Life

Thank you to the Red Lion restaurant and bar in Vail Village, Colorado for serving us beer as we read the newspaper ad for puppies.

Thank you to the Vail Daily for running the ad for the breeder of English Goldens in Utah.

Thank you to the breeder for delivering her and taking care of her for the first eleven weeks of her life.

Thank you to Delta Airlines who carried her to us from Utah to Chicago.

Thank you to the baggage handlers who waited with her in the cargo area when we were late (as the sudden realization of the commitment we were making to become a family caused us to construct her crate incorrectly).

Thank you to my parents for re-constructing the crate so it was usable when we arrived home with our puppy.

Thank you to the creators of the squeaky plush bone and the squeaky tennis balls that she loved to play with.

Thank you to the creators of Dog Beach in Chicago where we could enjoy the sand with our skittish puppy.

Thank you to the strong plumbing in the condo that could withstand the bucketfuls of sand that fell off as we washed her in the shower afterwards.

Thank you to the various West Loop sports bars owners who let our dog sit with us at an outside table while we dined.

Thank you to the City of Chicago for beautiful Skinner Park and the friends we made as our dogs played there.

Thank you to the owners of the hotel in nowhere Nebraska for not kicking us out for bringing a dog in when we had to take shelter from the storm on the way to Colorado.

Thank you to my parents for watching her in Colorado while we were on a visit to Taos, delayed by another storm in Leadville on the way back.

Thank you to my father for teaching her how to play Frisbee and to both of my parents for taking care of her while we were in Australia for a month.

Thank you to our landlord in Cambridgeport who allowed dogs.

Thank you to City of Cambridge for providing Fresh Pond -- the best off-leash area ever.

Thank you to my resident during internship who gave me the afternoon off, giving us a chance to teach her how to swim at the dog beach at Fresh Pond.

Thank you for the owners of the Best Western in Franconia, NH for allowing dogs so she could come hiking with us in the White Mountains.

Thank you to all of the children who have come through our house, starting with our own, for teaching her how to love them.

Thank you to my in-laws for giving her walk-filled and at times lengthy vacations in Maine.

Thank you to all extended family members who welcomed her and took care of her, especially my sister-in-law who was her favorite.

Thank you for several winters of heavy snow that emboldened her and made her exceedingly joyful.

Thank you to the veterinary teams who treated her when she got sick.

Thank you to my parents who nursed her in her last days.

Thank you to God for creating such a gentle, athletic and loyal companion, with ears as soft as silk which I held onto until the end, and after.

And above all, thank you to my husband, who is the best father any dog or child could know, who took her to play Frisbee almost every night of her life, and who purchased her in the first place as a gift to me when I was far from home and in desperate need of cheer.

She was our first child, and we will always love her.

Sanibel
May 17, 2008 - November 9, 2018