Those of you that have read my articles over the past year or so know that I am devoted to my 11 year old – soon to be 12 – Golden Retriever, named Buddy. He was definitely my deceased husband’s dog and I feel like he is the last remaining link between Bob and I. Yes, I have three daughters, but they are the product of my first marriage and Bob and I had no children between us.

When Buddy was a pup, I told Bob that we should have named him “Shadow” because he followed him everywhere. But our previous dog – another Golden – was named “Pal” and Bob wanted something close to that name. Hence “Buddy”.

Unless you are a dog lover you will not understand what I am about to say, but if you are a lover this will make perfect sense to you. When Bob died, almost 3 ½ years ago, Buddy mourned as much as I did. His “security blanket” has always been the swimming pool, maybe because he and Bob spent many hours swimming together. He would go and sit on the steps, maybe swim a lap or two, for hours on end. It was as if he was waiting for Bob to come out of the house and jump into the pool. Day after day that dog would wait for his master to come home. The house smelled like a locker room, because a hairy wet dog does not smell good – to anyone except maybe another dog.   [Read more…]