Kaci came into my life when she was 7. My daughter, Tracy, found her on Craigslist. I wasn’t looking for a dog at the time, but Tracy convinced me to “just go look at her”. Who could resist?
From the onset, she was a joy. She woke me at 5AM every morning, wet nose in my face. “Time for a walk!”
That was when she would jump onto my bed.
She loved to chase leaves floating in puddles. And squirrels, bunnies, birds. I often wondered what she would have done if she caught one.
She has been my faithful companion, through good times and bad. Always trusting, giving me unconditional love. Dave Barry once said, “You can say any foolish thing to a dog and the dog will give you a look that says, “My God, you’re right! I never would have thought of that!”
Yesterday morning, Home to Heaven came to my house and gave her a sedative. We put her in her bed and moved it into a ray of sunshine, where she loved to bask every morning.
As I had my last few minutes with her, I remembered a time when we were heading toward the parking lot after a walk on the Poudre River Trail in Windsor. Paul had been passing by, seen my car, and stopped. When he started walking toward us, but was still to far away for me to recognize him, Kaci bolted toward him, jerking the leash out of my hand. I got closer, and saw her joyously leaping into his arms, wagging her little stump of a tail. Here was a man who claimed to not like pets of any kind, but she had whittled her way into his heart.
Yesterday, as she passed from this life, I pictured her scrambling into that ray of light, into Pauls arms on the other side.
I will miss her, may she be in a better place, free of pain.