The Road to Tinkhamtown by Corey Ford’s is quite profound. More times than I care to recall I have walked down that same path. The most saddening thing about loving and caring for dogs is that we generally outlive them. Reading the story brought back memories of all the wonderful dogs that have made my life richer. 14 months ago I buried my dog Kramer that I adopted from the pound when she was an 8 week old pup. She made it 13 great years. My dog Bud is 14 now and his time is close I fear. He will be resting next to his girlfriend Kramer out back in the garden when his time comes.

In addition to Bud, I have 2 younger dogs at home now – one adopted pound pup and my very first bird dog Zip. They are both awesome! I thing I learned early on in life is that you can never replace an old friend with a new dog – you do what you can to make a new friend - and remember all the ones that are chasing critters and rolling around in smelly stuff in doggy heaven.

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." ~ Will Rogers

No one looks forward to death but I do take solace in the fact that there will be some really good dogs there waiting on the porch for me to catch up...

We have a cemetary of sorts and each gets his or her grave stones. No carved granite markers, just stones covering the graves. They typically get a favorite toy, blanket, snack food or bone buried with them. The cemetary is on a hill top under a canopy of oaks and pine where they can rest in the shade and keep an eye out all around.

I dunno.

I move around.

I laid The Gypsy's (rest her soul)body to rest under some Maples at her favorite place to stop and get a drink from a clear mountain stream so she could melt and wash down the Wind River, down the Columbia, and into the Pacific.

I went back and got her skull.

I have it in a large pistol case.

My dog Hank is my first gun dog. At 2 years old I've got a while to wait. But, I never let him out of the house without his day-glo I.D. collar and a headlamp on at night. I don't want anyone to have an excuse to run over him if he somehow happened out of sight and into the road. What a sad thing to think about.

www.outdoorwriter.net

i know i should plan ahead, but losing Chaos is too hard to think about. he is only 2 but i know anything is possible. maybe i would have him cremated and put some of his ashes in something i could take anywhere with me, kind of like i take him everywhere now. the rest i would spread at our favorite hunting spots where he is always the happiest. now i'm depressed.

I buried my dog Lili in the woods at our outdoor church. I carved her a headstone with my Dremel tool and diamond bits. It says "Lili A good dog." and she was a very good dog.

My jack russell (he tried to hunt everything) has a great spot on top of a hill that I cleared out for him with raspberry plants sprouting out of the mound. The vet office where he died made a little plaster cast of his paw and it is one of my most prized possessions. I think you can buy those kits at pet stores

This always makes me feel better when I think of the good times I had with my "Casey".

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...

Bailey, our old yellow lab died of cancer at 13 on the table at the vet's. We had her cremated, and ever since, whenever I hunting or fishing somewhere new, or I have the kids with me camping or hiking to a new spot that Bailey would have liked, we leave a bit of her ashes there. The kids love it, it helps them remember, and I believe it helps tie them to these places. At first it made the kids sad to do it, now they look forward to it and it motivates them to make it to the top of the hill, end of the trail, whatever challenge we are facing.

We buried our 15 year old lab, Shadow,on Feb 1,2010. It was one of our greatest losses as he was our best friend and best pheasent hunting dog. Every time I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I still get teary eyed as that was his favorite snack when hanging out with us in the house. He always hugged me for it when he was finished. Shadow would have walked through fire for us and even at 15 his eyes always sparkeled like a puppies. Shadow died peacefully in his sleep and a ravon flew over his grave shortly after we buried him. And yes, it is very true what Cory Ford has written and we do hope to see Shadow again. Maybe not in Tinkhamtown, but in "our" favorite hunting fields where he was everything a pheasent hunter could dream of, from a very special hunting dog to a mans and womans best friend!!!