Alex

What does one say when your best friend and pet companion dies?  Alex was indeed our family’s best friend.  As with all Golden Retrievers, Alex was eager to please and keep you company.  He went camping and hiking with us, walked with my wife in the mornings and ran with me in the evenings after work.  Alex was a member of our family for nearly 11 years.   Our daughter brought Alex home in September, 1999 on a whim that we needed to replace Kyle, the Golden Retriever we lost in 1998.  My wife and I didn’t know what to think – we were back to having 3 Golden Retrievers and we thought 2 was the right number.  It was a good thing Alex was there because within the next 9 months we would lose the other two to old age and have only Alex left.  And so it was from August of 2000 to January 31, 2010 that Alex was our only golden.  He traveled everywhere sitting in the front seat of the truck or car; he enjoyed riding up front so he could see everything going on.  All our neighbors knew Alex and Alex would always give them his customary “I want to sit on your feet so I am close to you” act and wag his tail as I would talk to them.  Our neighbor Steve would pet sit on those occasions we were unable to take Alex with us.  Steve so enjoyed Alex’s company and would often say that he was one of a kind. He was one of a kind alright and the best dog anyone could ever want. We all wanted Alex to be there forever but we knew that could not happen.  My 7 year old granddaughter whispered to me very softly one night that she did not want Alex to die.  Alex was fighting cancer and his days were drawing to a close.  Alex will be missed dearly and has left a void within each of the family members that is hard to express by words. We have all been made a better person by having the chance to know Alex and enjoy his company for those nearly 11 years.