There are little daily things where Wink and I were so connected that they seem incomplete now. Since he was just a puppy, we had a shower game. When I got ready to shower, he would run for a toy, and I would toss it across the room. He would go after it and then sit patiently by the shower, waiting for me to come out. The next big event was the hair dryer, which he cursed at loudly. That was our shower routine! Then we moved to the house where we are now. He liked this house because it is much bigger and has a bigger fenced-in yard.

     Since my heart surgery I have been using the shower in the guest bathroom because it is a walk-in rather than a tub shower. After recovery, I just continued to use it. As Wink got older, the steps got a little more difficult. When he was younger he would bound up and down the steps after me. The last few years he was more selective about his trips up and down the steps. We put his bed and crate in the family room so he didn't have to make the steps. However...when I would go upstairs he would sit at the bottom of the steps, listening intently to what I has doing. If he heard the shower curtain hooks slide along the rod, and the water turn on...up the steps he would come. There is a long hallway running straight from the bathroom door, so the toy we purposely kept in the bathroom would be sent flying down the hallways by me, quickly chased by Wink, who would then take his post by the shower, and from there the routine resumed as it always had. Showers aren't really fun any more...but I sure hang on tenaciosuly to those memories! I doubt that I will ever step into a shower again without remembering that little bunny butt chasing a toy down the hall.

     Our breeder called last night and said that little momma is due Friday. I don't know if the next Corgi will enjoy all the things that Wink did, but I'm sure there will be other things. There will never be a replacement for Stink Wink...there couldn't be. But the next one will make his own place in our hearts and will find his own ways to become endearing.

     My memories of our years together and all the wonderful times we shared, hold you safely in my heart, dear Winker. That spot is secure and will always be yours, my besses puppo!