Tuesday afternoon, Winnie peacefully crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She was at home, on her dog bed, lying in the sun, surrounded by love and her mom and dad. It was as gentle, and beautiful as it could be, and she passed quickly, and pain free. There was a gentle breeze, and dappling sunlight as she left us, and she is forever at peace.
Our hearts are broken, and the grief is almost unbearable, but we are reflecting on the long and wonderful life that Winnie had. She was 14 and a half years old.
Winnie loved her brother Tiggs, and he was with her before and after she passed.
I adopted Winnie when she was 12 weeks old from the Humane Society of Ft. Collins. She was the last dog in the back row, and she stole my heart. She used to carry my purse around Ft. Collins, and loved to chase the prairie dogs at Pineridge. She loved in her younger years, jumping for the branch in our backyard. One day after a snow storm, she actually caught it. She was very proud. She loved car rides, and sticking her head out the window to bite the air. She really loved playing the "hose game" where she would chase the spray from the hose all over the yard. Winnie loved going on climbing trips, even though she didn't always behave. She and Tiggs accompanied us on our year long road trip all over N. America. She was a well traveled girl.
During the last year, Winn had grown more and more anxious, her body started to grow weary, and there were starting to be more difficult days than good ones. We want to remember the Winnie that loved all of her favorite things and the Winnie who had a strong body and strong mind.
She had many good friends over the years, stretching from NY, to Colorado, to all across the country. Everyone loved Winnie, and she loved their belly rubs.
We prefer not to have phone calls right now, but if you have any memories to share, please email us, we'd love to hear your favorite Winnie stories.
I've created an album of some of my favorite pictures of Winnie, and I also went through my albums to find prints (Winnie was old enough that there were no digital camera's for the first half of her life!). I intend to scan those in to post her pictures from when she was a young girl.
With heavy hearts and much love,
Adam and Melissa
Thank you to all of our good friends who have sent memories and emails, your kind thoughts mean the world to us.
