A soft, sweet and sensitive sweetheart went from us this morning. Her faithful heart stopped at the once again, merciful hand of Dr. Hopkirk, Our /veterinarian.
When we met at GDB, March 17, 1993, there was no way of knowing what our future together would be. She was a newly trained guide with lots of wriggles and total devotion, first for her trainer and later for me. She was a most sensitive spirit from the first moment we met. Our travels took us to California, Iowa, Chicago, Canada, Utah, Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Germany, and the Czech Republic. She traveled by car, bus, plane, train, subway, and boat. We had two cruises together during her nearly seven year working career, March 17, 1993 through December 9, 1999.
She was a quiet presence in the physical therapy department where I work. She almost stayed in the office that I shared with several other staff members through the years. Almost, because she often lay just outside the office door where she could see down the hall to the elevator and watch what was happening in much of the department. She was so trustworthy there that I would come down from seeing patients in their rooms at the end of the day to find her there, ever watching. She would be so excited to see me that she would run the 50 feet to our waiting room to greet me as I returned, but only would she do this when the department was empty of patients at the end of the day.
By the end of her working career, she was relieved to shed the stress of her guide work. By then, it was hard for her to take the responsibility and make the decisions necessary for safe travels. In retirement, she joined our dog family at home and enjoyed our sunny yard and the walks or rides she got when they came her way. She was always an unassuming presence.
Going is always hard, but for her, it was an up and down process for several weeks. It was considered to be a mass in her abdomen that robbed her of her strength and caused her to be anemic. Dr. Hopkirk explained that she would bleed, be very anemic causing her to have difficulty getting up or moving. Then, according to his description, she would reabsorb some of the blood and decrease the anemia and she would be up and wagging her tail and even running a bit in the yard for several days before she would suddenly go down again. This is exactly how she acted.
My husband and I will forever miss her. Our home now that includes Homer Bassett; former guide, Angie GSD ; and my current, golden retriever guide, Sydney, is a little more quiet now that this sweet black lab presence has passed over the rainbow bridge.
Joleen Ferguson