['ol Pinion head]

Baseball season again arrived for our family last Friday afternoon. My wife & I made the trek to watch our son's JUCO team open up their season. Last Spring the team had a very good season, winning 43 games, but fell short of making it to the WS. Son is a Soph, & again played well, made first assist of the year from OF to the plate, the last out of the first inning. Wade walked a bunch, more than my liking, & a pic made the paper again, this time stealing a base. Both teams struggled with flyouts in their at bats in heavy winds, and ended up with a split of the opening doubleheader.

Fri evening, my wife & I get home, she opens the back door to the corner covered porch of our rear deck where we have placed our Choc Lab's bed, water, & food bowl. Wife hears a rustling in the oak leaves N of the deck behind one of the pool boxes. Bailey loved that area to lay in wait, more so than his bed up under the porch. I'm unloading the car, so missed it, but the old fellow literally dragged his way up two short steps onto the deck, then across the deck around the corner & into the kitchen. Very sad sight, he had injured two of his toenails & couldn't get the rear of his body up. His hips appeared to have finally given out. We brought his well padded bed into the kitchen, & got him settled in. Wife & I are up, off & on, all night cking on Bailey.

Saturday morning, we get up, & Bailey is doing better. He gets up & makes it outside, walks about, though a little stiff, in the bedding plants & the grass. He won't eat till late that day, not like him. I end up roadtripping by myself to Sat's doubleheader. Long day of ball, nowhere near as much wind as the preceding day, & it's unseasonably warm, 93 degrees @ 3 o'clock. Quite a few of us watch the game from the large covered upper pavilion to get some shade. The second 7 inning game starts late, & goes extra innings tied up. My son comes up in bottom of the 8th with the 1st batter having walked. Wade puts down a perfect sac bunt; down the 1st base line, misses by inches beating out the toss for a hit. Most importantly it moves the runner over to 2nd, in scoring position, that's why the called play is named a SAC... 1 out. Our guys battle, load 'em up, then can't get the winning run in.

Move on to the 9th, our big 6'8" pitcher is dealing more, he's been up to 94mph, gets his 8th strikeout in 4 innings. Bottom of the inning, 2 outs, bases loaded, my son steps back to the plate, 1st pitch, gets drilled in the foot off a low curve ball. Runs to 1st, believes the game has been won... it sucks, but it happens. Umps have a meeting, First baseman & nearby opposing dugout are talking trash/pure filth to my son & his basecoach. Ump motions Wade back to the plate. Wade yells at dugout, "Yeah, whatever, just have your pitcher pitch me a strike!" Wade crushes the 2nd pitch, but it's foul. Ballpark is on its feet, & it's loud, almost like early May leading up to regionals. 3rd pitch, a heater misses the zone, high & tight. 2-1 count. Pitcher toes the rubber & goes back to a curveball. Wade quickly picks up the rotation, sets back, & launches a hard linedrive, it skips a few feet in front of the warning track. Game over. Home dugout emptys, Wade gets mobbed near 2nd, the game's catcher Trevor yanks Wade's jersey off. Opposing teams lines up 1B line, most players will not shake Wade's hand. The thought crosses my mind "It's going to be a long season guys, I bet you get a little in your ear from your coach on your 6 hour bus ride home."

Near 20 minutes pass, coaches circle the team up, dugouts get cleaned out, I walk down from the upper deck, wait with other fans. Son comes up, grins, gives me knuckles, he doesn't have to say much. Then he asks 'Where's Mom?" I have to tell him about Bailey We both know this time was coming. We agree, Wade is driving home early Sun morning. Afterall, Bailey is Wade's dog. We are his 3rd owners, got him from church friends when my son was 10, & Bailey was 2 1/2. Bailey is now 13...mighty old for an athletic 80 lb Lab.

Sat night I arrive home, we have baseball friends from out of town staying with us. Bailey has been sleeping most of the day & is on pain pills. Sunday arrives, we get up, Bailey makes it outside & my friend Rick & I take a good walk following Bailey waaaay out back around the path through all the trees up around the back of my building. Bailey typically sprints on his way back here, wanting someone to chase him. Today it's a walk, like he's taking stock of his surroundings... We walk back to the deck following Bailey, watching him closely, & my son arrives home. Wade is also visibly concerned. Bailey walks back into the kitchen & gets on his bed. We all spend a lot of time with him, pain pills work, & he sleeps a lot Sunday. A little before leaving, my son kneels down with Bailey & breaks out crying, then drives back for 8 PM Sun lifting.

Yesterday morning arrives, we have an appt with the country Vet 10 miles north. Bailey struggles to get up, & forget his walking across the large tile floor on his own. I end up carrying him to the Jeep. The day has come... Vet notes, as well, "Bailey has had a long active life, not much he can do". My wife & I feel blessed that Bailey's last few years were spent "out in the woods" exploring our new place. We love it.

We bring Bailey home, behind one corner of my building is a cluster of 6 big oaks topping a ridge. To the west of those trees on the ridge with blackberry bushes & pines overlooking a distant pond, I dug for three hours... down deep through the topsoil & shale. Tearing out small roots from a nearby red cedar. Ended up with a fairly long deep grave facing SW to the sunset. Long enough a grave that I could stretch his body out in stride. oh how he loved to run. About 4:00, lowered Bailey's body down wrapped in a large beach towel. Buried him with his favorite toy & an old baseball. Bailey loved to fetch a ball, ESP in any pond. As we placed the last two of many rocks on Bailey's grave, big raindrops began to fall. The first good rain in at least a month. It was fitting, it was cleansing.

My wife & I drove to the house, cleaned up, & ended up driving to town in the rain. Ate at one of our favorite restaurants. Not sure if we'll go out for Valentine's Day. No dog will ever replace Bailey, he was absolutely the smartest & most loyal dog I've had in 50 years... since being a young kid, myself, first playing ball. We drove back home, it's just not like home, am going to have to find the right Lab to be part of the family. Thanks for reading.

[77 TRASHCAN]

A friend of mine that's been married...too many times, has a comparison between a woman and a dog.
Lock 'me up in the trunk of your car for 2 hours, the dog is as happy as can be when you open the trunk. The woman is not happy, or any of the other 7 dwarfs.....

Roger, you still in Texas?

[David Jones]

You won't replace him. Never will. You don't want to even try.
The next one will make his own tracks into your heart.

[vidguy]

SO sorry. That was a very touching tale of a difficult day for your family.. Sad, but with some happiness in memories.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by David Jones

You won't replace him. Never will. You don't want to even try.
The next one will make his own tracks into your heart.

Thanks David (& guys).

Totally understand, no way could ever replace him, Bailey just had his own personality. We are most likely going to pursue coming up with another neutered male Lab. That will have his own personality. Maybe through the local Lab Rescue.

There was just something about Bailey, ESP when he was young, he just seemed so happy to be with us. We were first acquainted with him in our friends backyard. Their young boys did not pet him or give him much attention & he laid out on the back patio, even when it stormed. previous to tht a young couple had him, & when they divorced, he could not live in an apartment. When we first saw Bailey, his coat was so thick, unkempt, almost looked like a Chow's, it was similar when we picked him up nearly a month later, right after he was offered to us. Can remember brushing him & what a good looking fellow emerged.

[GT182]

So sorry to hear about Bailey. At least he's at a restful peace. Just remember al the good times with him. He's there in spirit right by our side.

Labs when the get to be about 8 years old tend to get hip dysplasia. My stepdaughter has a Chocolate Lab with it. He's had it for 2 years now. He can hardly walk but does get around although very slow. One thing tho, he doesn't give up.

We had to put down both of our dogs within 3 months of each other. Both Peek-a-poos. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go thru, so I know how you feel. Even harder than my first divorce.

[GT182]

So sorry to hear about Bailey. At least he's at a restful peace. Just remember al the good times with him. He's there in spirit right by our side.

Labs when the get to be about 8 years old tend to get hip dysplasia. My stepdaughter has a Chocolate Lab with it. He's had it for 2 years now. He can hardly walk but does get around although very slow. One thing tho, he doesn't give up.

We had to put down both of our dogs within 3 months of each other. Both Peek-a-poos. Both of them had to be next to me all the time, even at night in bed. Spoiled isn't the word for them. They wouldn't go near my wife if I wasn't home. I carried each one when they were 9 weeks old in the palm of my hand until they were too big, then it wan on my arm. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go thru, so I know how you feel. Even harder than my first divorce.

[ponyakr]

TJ & I can relate. We got our Black Lab when he was 3, from her nephew, when they moved out of state. They had found him at a dumpster, where somebody had put him out. He had all sorts of problems, which required considerable vet expense, to fix.

But, they got him all fixed up, and it was well worth the expense. They kept him 3 years, til the nephew got an out of state job & moved. They gave "Rupert" to us. He was very friendly, smart, easy going, & he got along great with the dogs we already had. He fit right in, immediately, as one of TJ's trails dogs.

We live out in the sticks, so she has a very large area to ride her Leopard Appy, with old logging roads everywhere. It's perfect for those who love to ride thru the woods. And all the dogs we've had love to go on trail rides.

We moved less than a mile, in '04. We still had Rupert & 2 other dogs. The other 2 were old, and died not too long after we moved. But Rupert was young & strong, so for many years he was the only dog that went on every trail ride, with TJ. In all, we had him 10 1/2 years. At 13 1/2, he finally just wore out.

Some people just don't understand how attached some of us can get to an animal. They'll say,"Well, it's not like losing a child". Well, we don't have any children, but I'd guess that it is a very similar feeling, when you are real close to a special animal for a long time, then it's gone.

Some guys think it ain't macho to cry. But, I've shed quite a few tears, over losing some of the animals we've had. TJ got her 1st Appy when he was just a few months old, then trained him herself. She road the trails with him and lots of different dogs, for 20 years. Then he was gone. So, we started a pet cemetery, which is now only about a hundred yards behind our house. A Pontiac friend brought his backhoe over and buried "Rascal".

When Rupert died, I buried him myself, close to where Rascal was buried. It was a sad day.

But, it seems there is always another dog to take the place of the one you lost. It will not be exactly like the one you lost, but will have it's own personality, just like people. We've never bought a dog, they just show up--some probably with help from their previous owner. It took a while, but a little over a year ago, "Pooch" just showed up one day. He had made himself at home in Rupert's dog house, under our carport.

He looks to be part Beagle, loves to hunt & run--and run he can. When he goes on the trail rides, he don't stay right on the horse trail. He sniffs out every deer scent along the way. Sometimes he comes back with TJ, and sometimes it's an hour or more later. Rupert always stayed right with 'em, like a trusted body guard. They're different, but both great lovable dogs.

Anyhow, OPH we're sorry for your loss & hope ya'll will soon have another good dog to love.

[muscle_collector]

wow sorry to hear roger.

[Bentwheelbob]

Roger - sorry to hear this sad news. A chapter of your life has ended and a new one is about to begin. My two girls Sam and Lilly are 5 and 7. They are so much a part of my daily life that I can't imagine the absence of their presence. Good luck picking a new best friend and congrats to your son.

[Judge273]

Thanks for sharing that great story! Felt like I was there, and have been a few times myself...

Enjoy, your special times with your son and baseball. That family sports bond is the making of great family memories!

Sad, to hear about your Bailey boy too...but, again those memories are priceless as well.

[geeteeohguy]

So sorry for your loss. BTDT with pets all my life, and suspect pet owners/caretakers always will, as long as they can. No one animal replaces the other, or lessens their memory, but we have to remember the good times and try to provide for another deserving new member of the family. Good luck with your quest, and again, I am very saddened by your loss.

[mrrat1]

Sorry to hear OPH........you took care of each other very well, had many happy days together!! Not much more you can ask for from "Mans Best Friend"...........

['ol Pinion head]

Thanks for the nice thoughts guys, its been an interesting week. Monday kind of threw both my wife & I for a loop, we are doing well. Looking fwd to more ball games. Unless the right situation appears, believe we're going to hold off on the search for another Lab, til our son finds out what kind of summer league opportunity he has, & where he is going to school this Fall... quite a few things up in the air.