The picture page

Gone but not forgotten pets

Lady, Spring 1987 - May 14, 2001

Lady was my beloved Golden Retriever.  I got her as a puppy when I was 8 years old and we were still living at our old house.  There she enjoyed the fenced-in backyard and loved to dig holes.  When we moved, she moved in a dog pen in our backyard.  She loved getting loose (since the backyard had no fence) to catch rabbits and possums, and loved to take walks. She enjoyed people, especially when I took her by the ball field to watch the high school games.  In March 2001 she was diagnosed with cancer after she refused to eat for several days.  At her age, we decided to love her in the final days.  She simply went from person to person wanting to be petted and wanted all the attention in the world.  The day after Mother's Day, we had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep.  We buried her in mom's woods out near the family farm.  We put her old dog house near the spot where we buried her (it has since fallen apart).  Her dog collar still remains in our garage in our old cabinet.

Max, 197? - Fall 1988

Max was the cat in our old neighborhood that simply went from house to house.  He was a very friendly cat that fathered several litters before he was eventually fixed in 1986 because he was starting to have health problems.  For three years of his life he adopted our family and brought our rat problem under control.  He spent time both indoors and outdoors, because he wanted to check out every aspect.  He enjoyed sleeping in bed, playing with other pets, and kids.  In 1988 we decided to move to a new house and with his growing health problems we decided in the best interest that he would be better off staying in the old neighborhood.  We gave him up to an neighbor that lived down the street that owned several pets with special needs.  Max had to be put to sleep later that year due to his health problems.  He was estimated to be between 10 and 14 years old when he was put down.  He was cremated after his death.

Other beloved pets that are not pictured: Duke (1982-1988); Shadow (1988-1994); Misty (1995-2003).

Tribute

My senior year in college, sadly, was marked by several tragic events, including 9/11/01 less a month into the senior year, the death of a kid I went to high school with due to an car accident, and the passing of 5 school teachers that I had the honor of knowing at some point in life (Mr. Alwart - cancer, Mrs. Huge - stroke, Mrs. Scroggins - complications from diabetes, Mr. Price - car accident, and Ms. Bricker - car accident).  While at SIU, I also lost Grandma Agnes, my great-aunt Linda, Grandpa Jerry, Owen, Leona, Calvin, and my beloved puppy dog Lady.