Flash
A donation was made in memory of Flash by Doctors and Staff of the not recorded on Jan 20, 2009.
Flash Died Last Night- By Carl B.
12/26/08
My brown chocolate lab died last night. He had been going down hill over the last two months and it was fully expected. I came to consciousness slowly this morning with my arm draped over the edge of the bed and resting on his paw. His foot felt cold as if he had just come in from the snow. I remembered that when I went to bed last night he laid down at the foot of my bed on his blankie. So I knew he had gotten up during the night to be closer to me. I turned the light on and it was easy to see that the labored breathing of the last several weeks had come to rest.
Flash was a marvellous dog. Marvellous in several ways that were extraordinarily good and his health that was not so wonderful. His health was very often on the line during his 9 year old life. As a very young pup it was discovered that his eyelids were curled inside and so caused extreme weeping and clotting of his eyes. He acquired salmon fluke poisoning. He had an extreme skin condition that resulted in loss of hair and extremely oily skin that made him a very stinky dog at times. At various times he was diagnosed with auto immune deficiency, thyroid deficiency, and chronic ear infections. It was my ex-wife Roberta who kept him going to the vet when I doubted the desirability of spending so much money on a dog.
Certainly he had Roberta to thank for extending his life as far as it went. But it was for me that he had absolute devotion. He followed me faithfully where ever I went and if I left him on his own at home he was always there when I showed up, even when on occasion I left him with food and water and went away for the weekend. If I went to sleep he always followed into the bedroom. If I took a shower he pawed the door until it opened and there he would be lying in the bathroom as I emerged. When I sat at the table or the big chair he was typically at my feet. He was absolutely devoted. I loved him.
I often said that Flash must have been an incarnation of a former baseball player, possibly one who had done wrong in gambling or something and was having to make it up in this lifetime. Flash was a retriever and he took his job absolutely seriously. He retrieved with a vengeance and I came to learn that he retrieved with certain rules. The first rule: The ball or stick had to be retrieved on the fly if possible but certainly on the fewest bounces. This rule resulted in many false starts and running across the field even before it was thrown. This rule also resulted in head long lunges and somersaults in heroic attempts to get to the ball or stick before it hit the ground. Rule two: The object must be retrieved if it has been thrown. This rule resulted in crashing through the tightest underbrush and sticker vines, great leaps into trees where it was stuck in branches, dives into 53 degree winter water, and careening down virtual cliffs as the case may be.
What ever wrong Flash did in his former life he worked hard to resurrect his past mistakes and atone with good work. He did his job well and he was sent on to the next life early as his just reward.
Good bye buddy.
Carl B.
12/26/08
My brown chocolate lab died last night. He had been going down hill over the last two months and it was fully expected. I came to consciousness slowly this morning with my arm draped over the edge of the bed and resting on his paw. His foot felt cold as if he had just come in from the snow. I remembered that when I went to bed last night he laid down at the foot of my bed on his blankie. So I knew he had gotten up during the night to be closer to me. I turned the light on and it was easy to see that the labored breathing of the last several weeks had come to rest.
Flash was a marvellous dog. Marvellous in several ways that were extraordinarily good and his health that was not so wonderful. His health was very often on the line during his 9 year old life. As a very young pup it was discovered that his eyelids were curled inside and so caused extreme weeping and clotting of his eyes. He acquired salmon fluke poisoning. He had an extreme skin condition that resulted in loss of hair and extremely oily skin that made him a very stinky dog at times. At various times he was diagnosed with auto immune deficiency, thyroid deficiency, and chronic ear infections. It was my ex-wife Roberta who kept him going to the vet when I doubted the desirability of spending so much money on a dog.
Certainly he had Roberta to thank for extending his life as far as it went. But it was for me that he had absolute devotion. He followed me faithfully where ever I went and if I left him on his own at home he was always there when I showed up, even when on occasion I left him with food and water and went away for the weekend. If I went to sleep he always followed into the bedroom. If I took a shower he pawed the door until it opened and there he would be lying in the bathroom as I emerged. When I sat at the table or the big chair he was typically at my feet. He was absolutely devoted. I loved him.
I often said that Flash must have been an incarnation of a former baseball player, possibly one who had done wrong in gambling or something and was having to make it up in this lifetime. Flash was a retriever and he took his job absolutely seriously. He retrieved with a vengeance and I came to learn that he retrieved with certain rules. The first rule: The ball or stick had to be retrieved on the fly if possible but certainly on the fewest bounces. This rule resulted in many false starts and running across the field even before it was thrown. This rule also resulted in head long lunges and somersaults in heroic attempts to get to the ball or stick before it hit the ground. Rule two: The object must be retrieved if it has been thrown. This rule resulted in crashing through the tightest underbrush and sticker vines, great leaps into trees where it was stuck in branches, dives into 53 degree winter water, and careening down virtual cliffs as the case may be.
What ever wrong Flash did in his former life he worked hard to resurrect his past mistakes and atone with good work. He did his job well and he was sent on to the next life early as his just reward.
Good bye buddy.
Carl B.
