The Legend of Moodawg

The Legend of Moodawg

We were told about Moodawg from a friend. She discovered the creature in her local pet store. He was about six months old, languishing in a cage built for a small puppy. Dogs like him often came from puppy mills who sold them to small ma and pa pet stores.

It was the summer of 99 and there was a biker war in Quebec. I was a large man with unkempt hair, a shaggy beard, and frankly, I looked like a biker. When I entered the small pet store, I was taken aback by how much it reeked from animal waste and dog urine.

The Moodawg was a thin boned border collie. For a normally Stoic person, I was filled with emotion when I saw this poor creature trying to manoeuvre his way in such a small cage. I found myself starting to tremble, and could feel my blood pressure reaching a level that was making me dizzy.

The manager came over and I asked him for the dog’s price. He wanted 450 dollars for the dog. Then something happened, I wrapped my hand around the back of the owner's neck and started squeezing hard. My suggestion that 50 bucks was a good price, and I would not call the SPCA on him. I kept squeezing his neck, and he finally agreed to my price. Then I carried the poor animal to my truck, and gently laid him on the passenger side of my truck.

As I drove home Moodawg laid quietly in the passenger seat. “I bet you’re glad to escape from, that hell.’. Then he started to wiggle the very top of his tail. I smile at him, “We’ll be home soon enough.” When I reached over and started to pet his nose, he licked my hand. As Bogie said, “It was the start of a beautiful.friendship.”

Didn’t I realize the great adventures that we would experience ?

When I got home I called the SPCA on the shop. Later I heard that there was a business for sale sign on the door. Last I heard that it became a quilting store. No good deed goes unrewarded.

Moodawg had some health issues right off the bat. His legs were so underdeveloped that every time he tried to run, his legs would give out, and he tumbled to the grass. He was awfully underweight for his age, his coat was dull, and one of his eyes was crusted. He would have problems with his hips for the rest of his life.

My partner wanted to train him for CKC (Canada Kennel Club) obedience competitions. Border collies were routinely winning obedience competitions. They were considered one of the three smartest breeds of all time. Then the CKC changed their breed standards and a border collie wasn’t considered a purebred dog anymore, and you could not compete with them. Then my partner soon lost interest in Moo.

Some dogs attached themselves to both parties in a household, and some attach only to one party. Moodawg was much like little Bear my Chow mix, he responded emotionally only to me.

But then I understood him better than my partner, and I was the one who rescued him.

We fed our pets good quality pet food, and the Moodawg started eating voraciously. It took weeks but the long slow walks started taking effect on his leg strength. Before long, he could chase a ball. On these walks, I had all kinds of conversations with all my dogs about life, my day, and life on the farm.

Moodawg would spend his days on a large run. After we walked all the dogs for the night, I ended my days sitting quietly on our deck while we stared at the evening stars. As time went by, and he got his strength and energy back, his spirit came out. I enjoyed talking about my day with him. He was so calm sitting by my side.

I had a regular ritual of sitting on my back door gallery after walking in all my dogs, saving Moo for last. He would snuggle up against me while I stroked the top of his head , and the tip of his tail could wag.

“I have this feeling that it will be just you and me”, I said to Moo one night .

For a small 35 pound dog, the Moodawg thought himself as a heavyweight and would often initiate playing with the larger males, and he would get clobbered by our larger dogs. He tried to initiate playing with my German shepherd Brando who snapped at him, scaring him away.

Before we invested in dog runs and houses, the dogs were tied to long lunge ropes under mature maple trees. I would lay a bed of fresh hay for the dogs to lay on as comfortable beds.

One day we had a sudden rain shower, and Moodawg decided he would enjoy rolling in a bed of mud. When I came out to run the dogs back into the house, I warned my partner, and ran him, straight into the shower.It took third tries to get him relatively clean.

His high spirit started to grate on my partner. She was growing very impatient with his barking. Our closest neighbor was the cat lady of the area, and at any time she had a dozen cars lounging in her front yard, and half of them wandered into our side yard looking for field mice and other small creatures to hunt. Our backyard was the size of a football field. So the Moodawg loved barking at the cats that roamed near his run.

One day my partner came home from her job at a large pet store with a scent collar that would release the stronh smell of lemon when the dog barked.The intense shot of lemon scent was designed to shock the dog into stop barking. The Moodawg would bark right through the entire cartridge of lemon, and boy he would smell real pretty when he came into the house.

The Moodawg was relatively easy to train in basic obedience, but he was a handful when I walked him with other dogs. Sheepdogs have certain internal herding instincts. There were cutters and chasers. His natural Instinct was to cut in front of any person or dog he was walking with, which drove them crazy. Eventually I gave up walking him with other dogs.

When my friend Roch passed and bequeathed me his 2 horses, Camelle and Cloey. Both horses were over 16 years old chestnut coloured Quarter Horses. Moodawg would follow us through a 8 kilometre running trail. I would often ride one horse, and lead the other with a lunge rope. The Moodawg would follow ,and smartly he wouldn’t cut in front of either horse which was dangerous for dog, horse, and rider

One of the last rides we had together, Moodawg wolfed down horse droppings mixed with oats which smelled like oatmeal cookies. When I dismounted, he jumped on me wagging his tail, and trying to lick my face. I declined the offer.

One day Moodawg and Kane, our German born Rottweiler, got tangled up. Kane lunged out and bit Moo, just missing his jugular. We took him to a local vet who said that he needed to be sedated while he stitched up the bites, and for another 40 dollars, he could castrate him at the same time. He thought that it might calm him down. Frankly it didn’t….Years later my wife thought Moo was an extremely hyper energetic dogs and I thought he had calmed down later in his life when we settled in Vancouver.

Some relationships last a lifetime, some fizzle out quickly, my relationship with my partner lasted,nearly 20 years and reached an ending. Since neither one of us could buy the other out, we were forced to sell the farm. Part of my price for freedom was that she would get my dog Pasha. I would start my life over somewhere else with room for one dog and it was Moodawg.

Moving day came, and I moved my stuff in storage, and Moodawg would spend the next three weeks in a nearby kennel. I was staying at my Mom’s, while I decided on my future, and where I would call home.

When the storage facility called and had a leaking roof, and my belongings were ruin by murky water. I took it as a sign that my time in Montreal was over. Their insurance offered a mediocre settlement and I made my mind up about leaving town.

My choices were either heads for Vancouver or tails for Halifax. I tossed a coin and it was heads

I had some time in Vancouver when I had a short term romance with a lady from Portland Oregon. I had fallen in love with the pace of life in Vancouver.

I had visited Vancouver over Victoria day weekend of that year. I fell in love with Kitsalano area while walking the beaches of Jericho. I always had a hyper gungho style until my solitary visit to Vancouver. The west coast had a calming effect on my body, brain , and soul.

My new home would be Vancouver, and Moodawg and I would drive across the country in my 18 year old BMW with whatever I could fit in my trunk.

My brother helped me pack my car .I said goodbye to my mom and drove to the kennel to pick up Moodawg. I left the rear passenger door open, entered their office. The attendant got Moo. As soon as he was released , he ran out of the building and I found him sitting in the car on my cowboy hat which he used as a pillow.

This was the start of our great adventure.I had a nice nest egg from my share of the sale of the farm. And my first inclination was to drive to Mexico, find a small village and set up shop as a writer and do my version of Hemingway.

So we drove late into the night and hit the Windsor area. I asked a man on the street for directions ,who tried to open the door and enter my car.

Finally I figured out how to get to the border. The very nice American Custom agent asked me for vet papers for rabies and since I had no idea where his papers were. So driving down to Mexico was out of the question.

It was 2 in the morning when we entered a Comfort Suite with Moo on a leash.

“ Can I get a room for me and my boy? ” I8 asked.

Sure she said . She filled out the paperwork and asked for my credit card.

Where is your child ? she asked

“I was referring to me and him “ pointing to Moo.

She didn’t think I was serious, and said No pets .

We got into the car and drove a distance before we found a truck stop. I parked the car in the furthered spot. Moo and I went for a quick walk. Then I curled up in the backseat, and Moo took the front passenger seat with funniest expression like “Okay this is fun”.

The path across Canada was as simple as can be, you follow Transcanada Highway 1 to Vancouver.

The next morning I woke stiff from my sleep as Moo jumped on me and licked my face. After a quick walk, we got in the car and headed up Highway 1 . The driving went quickly ,but boring because my car radio wasn’t working . After awhile I had a hard time staying

So we started singing a song that was a 1 hit wonder that summer ,but that didn’t work. I had quit caffeine for about a year. And the one thing I noticed how many Tim Hortons were along the highway. I stopped for coffee. But that didn”t seem work.

Then we stopped off the highway right before Sault Ste. Marie and took a short walk along beautiful Vista by Lake Superior.

“Damn, “ I said out loud. Moo stared up at me with an inquisitive look. I didn’t take any of my art supplies with me. So I took a few dozen photos with my 35mm camera.

When we stopped at a light in Sault Ste. Marie, and something caught Moo’s attention and he jumped out the window. Panicked, I stopped the car suddenly and chased him down. I guess he was bored. I gave him a scolding as we drove on.

My last resort was picking up a hitchhiker. I was hoping for a beautiful woman, but I settled for a clean looking college age man looking for a lift to Winnipeg.

Andrew was a third year engineering student from U of T,on his way to visit his girlfriend in Winnipeg. He talked about his family, his schooling, and his passion for soccer. We drove until we reached a truck stop right after Canadian Forces base Camp Petawawa for dinner.

We sat outside and ordered food, while we waited I took Moo out and tied him to the table. I ordered two burgers, and two slices of what was advertised as county fair awarding winning Apple pie. I ate both burgers, one slice of pie and gave Moo the other slice of pie. He enjoyed the pie in 5 seconds flat, and his breath smelled like a bakery.

For unbeknownst reasons people liked talking to me and telling me their stories, and I was a natural good listener. As a retired freelance article writer, I enjoyed asking questions . It was my way of controlling the conversation, and not talking about myself. Later on I discovered my Aspergergers and which explained plenty..

The cafe owner, a pretty auburn hair middle aged woman sat beside us as we ate , and told us about the day at their country fair, and her shock at winning a blue ribbon for the pie. It was one of the tastiest pies I have ever had, with sweet luscious apple slices , a light and flaky crust, and perfurmed perfectly with cinnamon and nutmeg. I knew my desserts, because I grew up with a mom and Baba with serious baking chops.

Dusk was coming quickly and I wanted to make camp before dark. We were driving in an elevated rocky mountain area, and instinctively I stopped at a dirt road, and parked the car.

Andrew set up his pup tent. I walked Moo, and spent a hot and sweaty night with the windows slightly open and the doors locked . You can't be too safe.

Sunrise woke us up at 5am, and we were quickly on the road again. We ate donuts and drank coffee as we made our way through northern Ontario and into Manitoba. It was a two hour drive and I left Andrew in downtown or what I thought was the main street in Winnipeg.

We stopped at a highway food cart, and bought the largest fresh fruit I ever saw. Twelve hours later Moo and I reached Saskatoon. I spent so much 14 hours driving, my left arm was badly sunburnt.

Right outside of town we stopped at the kind of motor inn people rented by the hour. The room was dark, airless, and just fit the bed. When I used the toilet I noticed one foot was 6 inches higher then the other. For obvious reasons we slept together in my sleeping bag.

We woke up to a short sleep, packed up the sleeping bag and continued driving in the car.

Across the highway was Regina , and I stopped at an Esso gas station , and discovered they also served breakfast.

I noticed on the menu that they made perogies. As a good Ukrainian boy, I ordered a double portion to take with us .The car smelled like bacon and sauteed onions. An hour into the drive the smell was intoxicating. And I opened the container and I started eating as I was leaving Saskekawan and entering Alberta.

Moo and I had a picnic near the windmill farms just across the Alberta border. I brought out jis kibble, some water, and the rest of the perogies. We stared at the giant windmill power farm in awe of the massive construction. It was then , when I realized we had driven from Quebec to Alberta in 3 days, and why in good God was I in such a rush.

My then undiagnosed Aspergergers' brain was at times so rigid in keeping a schedule, and a routine, and often left little time to stop and smell the roses. WHY ?

I had a nice cushion of cash in my bank account from the sale of the farm. We were a pair of travelling gypsies with no time frame for reaching our new home. Or would Vancouver be our final destination ?

It was then and there while sitting on a rock finishing my lunch that I could feel this metamorphosis in my body, brain , and consciousness that said just chill.

I was driving across Canada by myself which was a very rare opportunity to explore, make memories, and enjoy life .

When we reached Calgary, and found a Service station beside a mall. The service station needed a couple of hours for my old car.

The mechanic came running out after me.

How do you open the hood, he asked embarrassed. My old Beamer’s hood opens backwards.

I headed to Canadian Tire which had a great selection of camping equipment for sale. I had a large backpack, two man tent , sleeping bags, a cook stove, a hiking pole, some fishing gear, and to feel safe,a Rambo size knife , bear spray, and a heavy duty grocery cart.

Then I hit a Coop grocery store and bought Moos food, bottled water, almond milk, granola, dried fruit, some cans of tuna, bread, and several boxes of protein bars, and toilet paper.

The Australian aboriginals have a rite of passage where they cross the Outback, and call It a Walkabout. The plan was to drive along the highway and stop for about a few days, and come back to the car.

I took the wrong turn trying to get to Banff National Park , and ended up sputtering up hills till we were surrounding by cattle which made

Moo very excited . So I quickly pulled up the windows . So we didn’t have another incident like Sault Ste.Marie.

Somehow the cattle wandered away and we managed to turn around and got back up the very steep hills , and made our way to Banff National Park.

I parked my car, and loaded my backpack with food, water, a change of clothes, a raincoat, and stuff for Moo. In the hidden pocket in my army vest I had my knife and bear spray was tucked in the hip pocket of my army pants.

We hiked down to a deep water lake with bright azure blue water. I could see fifteen feet down. I took a dozen photographs of the water, park, and the mountain.

We took a left on a well worn trail following a bunch of bike riders through up and down trails that lasted for kilometres .

The fresh Rockie Mountain air was exhilarating. We hiked for the morning when Moo and I heard a noise. Standing 200 meters away up wind from us, was the biggest bear I have ever seen.

Moo started to make like he wanted to bark , I picked him up, held down his mouth and very quietly walked away from the creature that was both breathtaking and scary at the same time.

We decided to hike the open trail with the other people. I read later on about Grizzlies attacking trail bikers in the park that summer. About dusk, we found a place to make camp which was surrounded by other tents in a long grassy knoll. I poured Moo his kibble and water, while I munched on protein bars and drank almond milk sitting on a large rock by our tent.

I left the tent open and gazed at the full moon and stroked Moo’s head as he slept curled up on his mat like a puppy. What's next, I thought to myself. The fact was I was on no timetable, I could take all the photographs I could with all the film I bought, I had a cell phone, I could keep charged with my small portable UPS.We wandered through the park for 2 days before we headed back to the car.

Three hour drive later we arrived at Revelstoke National Park. This time I packed my fishing gear, and took them fishing license I bought when I got my gear. I was allowed to fish only in lake water, and not in the streams. When we reached the lake area I tied Moo.s leash to a log by the shore and waded in with my shoes and pants on.

My legs started to freeze , and it was the middle of summer in BC. I had my fishing vest on and one pocket was filled with dog cookies. Every half hour I tossed a cookie over to Moo to keep him busy until I saw that he curled up in some grass and took a nap in the sunshine. It must have felt good on his bones.

Two hours later I finally got a lake trout big enough for dinner. The smell of the fish woke up Moo, and he lunged for the fish before I could pack away the fish. We headed to the campsite where we had running water and working toilets. I pitched the tent, and set up the mats and sleeping bags in the tent.

I took out my knife and cut fillets from the trout, started up the small portable Coleman stove on a base of rocks . The trout fried up quickly, and I added some rehydrated polenta and salsa to complete the dinner menu. I tossed a cooled piece of trout towards Moo, he snapped it up quickly, but chewed suspiciously like what he was eating. We finished dinner by sharing a bag of oatmeal cookies I had bought at a country store along Highway 1.

We both slept deeply. The next morning I woke up as Moo licked my beard. We packed up camp and headed back to the car to continue our Walkabout through BC. Two weeks later we were driving up the highway pass Vancouver following a camper that had a sign that said Alaska or bust.

We followed the camper until we reached the scenic ski town called Whistler, when I turned around the car and headed back the other way.

I did promise you no more snow, I said to Moo who wagged his tail when I told him. I found a nice Motorlodge that allowed dogs in the town of Squamish which was near the Chief , a legendary climbing precipice.. The town was filled with gypsy climbers who came from around the world, camped in the park all summer and tested themselves by climbing the Chief.

My goal was to find a new home for me and Moo. We travelled into Vancouver three times and found no place that fit into what we needed, a large ground floor place that was quiet. I got hungry and stopped at this cafe right before the Chief. It was a converted house with a fence in yard. I saw four border collies in the yard, and asked if Moo could join in the merriment. The owners allowed Moo in the yard, and the five dogs took turns chasing each other . I sat on the balcony and had a sandwich with a strong cup of coffee. You should have seen the reaction of a family of American tourists, as they got out of their rental, and reluctantly walked quickly through the yard, up the stairs and into the cafe.

While I sat and enjoyed my coffee, I got a returned call from a woman who didn’t have an apartment to rent, but she had a downtown suite that she rented temporarily if that would help.

We met the next day at the hotel, and I recognized her as an actress that went from being the cute teen to the mom on locally filmed B Movies and TV Movies. She had no issues with pets as long as I paid a damage deposit, and at least by being in the center of town we could walk to places instead of driving my antique car.

I drew a surprising reaction from the other hotel guests. I discovered that they were a large group travelling from New Zealand and they were used to seeing border collies everywhere in their country. The suite had a weird small fridge/small stove combo, and couch in one room, and a queen size bed in the other room. For 75 dollars a night, it was a deal I could live with.

Vancouver was in the middle of another sunny summer. Moo and I explored the downtown quarter, and I was shocked to see how many shops had water for the dogs, allowed leached dogs into their stores and many offered dog cookies. Moo was getting quickly stuffed and enjoyed all the petting.

The following Monday I arranged an appointment to view a ground floor apartment in Kerrisdale.

Moo and I walked there from our hotel crossing the bridge which freaked out Moo as he crawled across the bridge. We got to Kerrisdale and met the agent who was sitting on a patio chair by the front door.

The place was attached to a complex of stores,a small grocery store across the street was a butcher and a baker, a gas station was next door. The rent was reasonable, I handed her a cheque for the first three months up front. She asked me when I wanted to move in and I said as soon as possible, but I didn't have a stick of furniture.

We camped out on the floor of our bedroom. The next morning we hit the used furniture stores on Main street. In the second store we walked in, I picked out a large mattress and box spring with a set of end tables, a coffee table, a TV stand and a 20 inch tv. In the store I picked out a large futon with a red cover, a few lamps, and a typing desk.

I had the stuff delivered that afternoon. Then we headed to a mall and I bought dishes, pots, pans, sheets ,and towels . So by the end of the day my furniture was delivered m the bed was set up and made.

The bakery was downwind from my bedroom window, and woke me up at 6 am the next morning. I introduced myself to Bob the baker who became a close friend and confidant over the year I frequented his establishment.

The next day Moo and I started exploring Kitsilano. We discovered the dog beach at Jericho which was like walking into another world. Dozens of dogs were racing in and,out of the water as sun gazers laid on towels on the beachfront. Moo had never seen the ocean before. He was reluctant to go into the water.

I was wearing cargo pants with a bunch of pocket

I didn't have a bag , so I asked a lady tanning on the beach to hold my cell phone and camera. When I got home that night I discovered that she took a photo of us getting out of the water . It was one of my favourite photos of all time.

Then I picked him up and carried him hip deep into the waves , and he swam his way back into the shore with a severe look like he wanted to bite me in anger. I thought it would be good for his hips and he was having problems with them.

We started coming down to the dog beach on a daily basis. Moo was reluctant to go any further then a step or two into the waves. Then I would gather him up and carry him out into waves, and he would then swim to shore.

He was the policeman of the beach. He reacted to any dog barking and had to investigate himself.

I remember it. On one visit there were three massive Cane Corsos and a Great Dane who very gently played with the much smaller dog who initiated the playing.

Once the afternoon's hike was over , we would walk along the stores, pick up dinner, some wine, and dessert for the evening's meal. Moo ate his dinner, while I cooked dinner.

We would end our evening with a quick pit stop, and then bed. Moo had made a bed of a sleeping bed on the floor of our bedroom closet.

One warm Sunday I decided to go for a morning run through the UBC Endowment Lands a few blocks from our place. A massive strip of land with trails used by hikers, runners and the occasional horseback riders

This time I took Moo with me. We hit the trails at a fairly comfortable pace. He moved with me . Then we were heading down a sloping trail when I picked up the pace and his cutting instinct kicked in, and he quickly cut in front of me and I was forced to jump over him. I lost my balance and tumbled head first into the bush. I narrowly missed plowing into Moo.

I got up from the land spot which was a large series of bushes, scratched up and slightly bruised up, Moo looked at me with a panting grin and was wagging his tail.

Not any worst for wear, we continued running through trail when we decided that it was too nice a day. We discovered that the trail continued through the golf course to a dead end . We jumped a divider , crossed the road and found our way to the far end of Spanish Banks beach in Kitsalano.

I was sweating up a storm , and Moo was panting like mad. I coaxed him into the water for a cooling off swim. He was reacting to a sea otter who was swimming in and out around him in the water.

The sea otter got bored with playing with us and disappeared. We got out of the water and walked along the beach watching an all girls soccer tournament being played on the sand until we reached the dog beach. Neither one of us wanted to get wet again so we headed for our favourite burger place where we shared lunch on the patio.

I joined this writer’s workshop that met every other Sunday in a large loft in Gastown. I quietly sat and listened as people read their work out loud.

“WHY am I here,” was a question I asked every time I took the long bus ride to the downtrodden neighbourhood where you watched your back walking even during the day. Weirdly enough I kept getting asked out by young wannabe female writers , and being a bit old fashioned, I picked up the cheque.

I settled on the restaurant and liked Mexican food.

Moo was my wingman for any date I had. I had my favourite Calimex restaurant called Topanga which had a patio that allowed dogs. We would meet our dates, have a nice dinner and walk home after the meal. Many of my dates were quite taken with how cute and adorable Moo was. Ironically the one person I never took to Topanga was my wife.

It was just the 2 of us for most of the summer. But one day I answered a Craigslist ad in the friends section, about the subject of cuddling. She answered back, and we arranged to have coffee at the local Starbucks on 41 st avenue in Kerrisdales over the weekend .

Sunday came, I got dressed, and groomed Moo. Then we walked to the coffee shop which was 7 blocks away from our home. It was warm and I worked up quite the sweat before I got to the shop. We sat at an outdoor table and waited for our dates.

Abby arrived with an adorable wiener dog named Frodo. She wore a Brazil soccer tee, Capri and sandals, and listened patiently as I blathered on and on about anything and everything .She had the biggest and brightest blue eyes that gleamed when she smiled. The more she smiled, the more I rambled on with stories, weird attempts at humour,and I guess I must have charmed her.

Years later , usually around the anniversary of our first meeting , we joke about that date and how we both felt about our first impressions of each other.

Neither one of us cared that a light drizzly started. The date lasted all afternoon. I discovered that they lived nearby. She ran into her house and grabbed another dog that her landlord bordered and caught up with us. We walked back to our place, and I gave her a little kiss goodbye.

She moved in with us a little over a month later. We moved to Richmond at our lease, and Abby was pregnant. She ended up spending almost the entire last two trimesters in the hospital with almost everything that a pregnant woman could suffer from a low-lying placenta ,to gestational diabetes.

Six weeks after our son was born we moved to a converted hundred-year carriage house that was originally a horse barn in the Fernwood district of Victoria, in a home that we called Frodo's house.

The barn door still opened , and I used the ramp from the moving truck directly into our tiny kitchen.

The house had 4 tiny rooms,including a trapezoid shaped bedroom, 5 windows which only 2 opened, and an adult woman had to bend down to look out the windows. It was tiny but cozy, and that winter we heated the entire place with the oven.

While Moo was quite indifferent to J our new born son. It wasn't long before our son was crawling around the floor of the house and Moo was his minder.There were short 7 inch steps between the hallway and the living room. Moo would place himself between Josiah and the step to prevent him from hurting himself.

We would take long walks with Josiah and Moo through our new neighbourhood. But time was catching up with Moo, he was limping sometimes during our walks and would let out a snarl when he got up on all fours.

My wife convinced me to take him to a vet. I knew the diagnosis before we got there. Moo was thin boned and came out of a puppy mill. H had severe muscular atrophy when I took him home all those years ago.

The day of the appointment came, and we discussed what really had to be done. The vet had taken x rays , examined Moo’s range of motion. She confirmed my worst fears, severe arthritis in both hips. She suggested medication for the pain, but I owed Moo better than pain pills to extend a life that would become less enjoyable as the pain would worsen.

After talking to the vet, she came in with a sedative and a syringe. Moo would feel fall asleep and not wake up.She injected Moo with the drug that would end his pain. I laid there with him for a while, stroking his chin like he always enjoyed, reached down and kissed his head , and said goodbye to my friend and partner in crime .

Days turned into months , and months turned into years . The baby that Moo watched over just turned into a teenager. I think often about our drive across the country, camping under the stars, and the grizzly bear in Banff.

I was thinking about the Legend of Moodawg.