Ellie

Ellie was my first baby.  It was just me and her for the first 4 years, and then she helped me pick out her Daddy, and later helped me to raise our other babies Rilan and Braden.  Stereotypes and labels would never do for Ellie.  I rescued her from the pound in Wichita.  She was with her brother when I found her, and he served not only as her companion, but her walker.  Ellie was born with only three functioning legs and didn’t know how to walk on her own, but learned within hours of bringing her home.  She was a Border Collie mix, but a lover of young children, water, snow and other animals (both the 2 and 4 legged variety).  She never learned how to swim in water so deep that she couldn’t touch, but not because she never tried.  The California beaches provided her with a surf to chase and a graded base that she could gauge her desired depth of submersion.  She was the most well-behaved dog I’ve ever owned, but I did indulge her extra naughtiness when I need a closer and more reliable friend to get me through my 20s.  She’s always eager to great a new friend, but protected me when I needed it.  How she knew the difference between friend or foe will forever baffle me, but I chalked that up to the mystical powers belonging to our canine companions.  She’d never barked or growled at a single soul that came knocking on our door until I became pregnant with our children.  During those 9 months of each pregnancy, she never left my side and refused to allow anyone outside the family within talking distance of me.  Then the guardianship extended to the baby once they were born.  She’d always been in the same room as them, and on our 2nd story deck, would park herself right in front of the stairs so that curious babies would venture onto the steps.  My daughter was facinated by her paw pads and loved to play with them, and Ellie seemed to appreciate the attention and would reward her with kisses each time she reached out to her. Ellie was a treasured family memember who will forever be in our hearts and minds.  We miss her so much and have been visited by her in our dreams…we thank her for that because without them, we’d find it pretty difficult to wake up each morning.   To my Canine Angel, We hear your sighs and grunts and “yips” every day and still turn our heads to acknowledge you. Be well, best friend.  See you on the other side! Love,  Mom