On Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 I learned that my best friend of 11 years had unexpectedly passed on.
Nora came into my life at 9 weeks of age. I was working and living on a horse breeding and training farm at the time. Nora had the time of her life growing up there. She worked with me all day, every day. She loved to ride on the ATVs, front paws on the gas tank, rear end on the seat sandwiched between my legs. She went for a few horseback rides too, but always barked with sheer
anticipation and joy whenever an engine started up. She learned to swim in
the pond and fetch from the resident Golden Retriever, Ozzy. She had
many, many dog friends and I think there was a time that she honestly
believed she was a Jack Russell. Nora was always excited to go on car
rides, loved her obedience classes and even had a brief stint in
agility. In true Nora fashion, she barked the entire time she ran around
the course, as fast as her four inch legs would carry her.
When Nora was two I moved on from the farm and started a “regular job”. I was concerned with moving her into town and leaving her alone for long
stretches at a time. Amazingly though, she settled right into our new
routine. A few years later, I decided to go back to nursing school. Once
again, there was an upset in schedule, but she still went along with
the program. This trait of hers never failed to surprise me. As long as
she had her breakfast first thing in the morning, a long walk, and ate
at 5pm, she was content and happy. I cannot begin to tell you how much help I had from friends and family over the years to hit that 5pm dinner on the nose.
There are so many wonderful memories that keep flooding my mind and many, many pictures; fetching sticks out of the ocean, fetching chunks of ice
out of a very cold Lake Tahoe, hopping through four feet of snow,
wrapped up like a burrito with just a wet nose poking out and an eye
that was saying, “are you kidding me”?
As Nora got older, she was more and more content to sleep in her bagel bed, go for shorter walks and sit in the big leather chair under the
window, watching the world go by. The urge to play ball though, never
faded and she almost always had one in her mouth, just in case.
There is no comparable love to what a dog brings to the table. Now the house is quiet and Chubby the cat is wondering where his friend is. My husband
and I have been sitting together the last few nights, recalling the
many tales that Nora has left us with. Time will pass and this acute
feeling of loss will subside, but Nora will live in our hearts forever.
Nora Lee, you are missed more than words can possibly say. I can only hope that you are safe and warm now. I am picturing you with all of your friends that have gone before. You will never be forgotten. xoxoxox
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