The Passing of Josie, A River Dog

[JohnB]

Sadly, Diane and I had to let our dog Josie move on downstream on Monday. Diane had had Josie longer than she's had me, so it was a tough day. Many of you have spent time with our dogs, Josie and Zuli, on the river and around camp, so I thought we needed to let our boating friends know.
I write a little cycling blog and some pictures and Josie's obituary are posted there.
http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Diane, Zuli and John

[canoe]

our deepest regrets we will keep you guys in our thoughts Love Pam/Dale

[Dee Tucker]

John & Diane,
Sincere sympathies on your loss. Josie was a cool dog, and way more than that to you, I'm sure.

[shelbyjohnson]

My sympathies... its hard losing a family member.

[Walter Felton]

For many of us our 4 legged friends are our family. Sorry Josie is gone, she was part of the ACC family for a long time and will be missed.

Walter Felton

[depic]

a great dog and she will be missed. Sorry for Diane and your loss. She was a good friend and fun to be around.
Dennis

[Renee H]

Sorry to hear about Josie, John and Diane.

[GN YAKN]

Sweet pup that Josie Dog.

So sorry for your loss.

Dave

[Fish]

I still miss my river dog every day. My heart goes out to you.

- Fish

[David Holthus]

We are very sorry for your loss, Diane, John and Zuli. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.

David, Maurine and Rocky

[Michele Jackson]

So sorry for your loss. Nice blog and obit for Josie. Seventeen years - wow.

[Gordon Kumpuris]

Very sorry for your loss. 17 years is a long time. Cherish the memories.

[Cowper]

Diane's already heard this in person, but DeBo and I share her pain and have some of our own. It's been a bad year for four legged friends all around.

DeBo's cat Claude hated water, but he loved DeBo, and tolerated me more often than not. Claude passed the day after Josie.

[okieboater]

Loosing a pet, is hard to get over. Not an easy time. I know I have lost several and they all share special memories.

Some years ago, Francine and I lost our Chow to that disease that causes dogs to loose function in their legs. Suchi was my best and most trusting friend and guardian of Francine and Michele when I was not around. Not long after that our cats passed on due to old age.

We told ourselves we just could not go through this again and decided no more 4 legged pets in our household.

Then one sunday morning Francine went out for the paper and returned with a bundle of love pup that had been dropped off on our dead end street. The vet identified him as an australian shepard. That dog has become a member of the family. Always ready for action and never met a person he does not instantly win over.

Then Francine got a rescue cat from a local agency. Rescued from a kitty farm, the cat had seen hard times. Took a while but she now is in charge of our house and purrs all the time. She is definitely part of our family. Watching her snooze away with all 4 paws up in the air just tickles me as I know she at last feels safe.

It is hard to get over loss of loved ones, especially trusting 4 legged friends. But, some times the good Lord works in mysterious ways.

My heart goes out to you guys. I hope you are as lucky as we were when Squirt and Ashley found our house.

[DeBo]

Here is a little essay that I wrote about Claude the day after he died:


Eight years ago, returning home from Lance and Laura Jones’s house in Little Rock, the headlights shone on a tiny white ball of fur at the end of the street. I immediately asked Cowper to stop. I ran back in time to see a very young white kitten dash into the woods. I jumped after him and caught him just as he turned his back to a large oak and prepared to fight for his life. I reached out to grab him and was met with a flurry of teeth and claws which would earn him the name Claudius Maximus.

It had been two years since my cat of twenty years had died and I had not planned to get another but the bond to Claude was instant and grew even stronger as I nursed him back from a near fatal battle with tick fever.

After that first defensive outburst Claude became the sweetest animal I have ever known. Sitting by my feet and staring at me, he waited for an invitation to jump up into my lap to be petted. He was always easygoing and always politely asked permission for things he wanted.

Well, that is except for the water in the python habitat, which I presume he must have thought was better than his because it was under lock and key. He would come running from wherever he was in the house to drink from their bowl whenever he heard me unlock the door. He was finally cured of this habit when he accidentally bumped into one of the coils of Pricilla the Ball Python who was sleeping on her perch above him. She flinched and he saw her for the first time. He jumped straight up in the air, hit her again, came down flipping over the water bowl, and skidded out of the door onto the tile floor trying to gain traction while running in place like a cartoon cat.

For eight years Claude has been one of my most important sources of joy, he has always been by my side when I am at home and slept on the bed next to my feet.

Last week Claude got sick. I took him to the vet. He was running a high fever. The vet gave him antibiotics and the fever subsided but he still refused to eat or drink. On Monday he went back to the clinic and was given fluids and fed through a tube. Tests were run; x-rays taken. A “mass” was found near his heart.

Today I was supposed to go in, see the x-rays and discuss “options” but this morning my vet called, his voice was husky with tears. He said I have sad news……

Claude went away last night. He did not ask permission. Maybe he knew I would have said no.