It was the warm compassionate dark brown eyes that first caught my attention.  I can’t Mauri-1believe it was nearly 14 years ago that the Butcher and I got our Jack Russell Terrier, Callie Rose.  She was a very special dog.  We got her in the fall.  I would rake leaves, put her on the plastic with the leaves and give her a ride to the road and unload the leaves.  She would never wander away from me.  She and I would walk every day, and I mean every day.  It would be so cold her feet would get iced up.  I would have to pick her up and carry her until her feet thawed out and then she was right back on the ground.  We always walked the same 2 mile route.  In fact she knew the route by heart.  When she got frightened during storms, firecrackers or gunfire she would walk the route by herself.  That gave us some scares photo (27)over the years.

She was good around all people.  She received certification to go into nursing homes as a therapy dog. She was always so patient and good with everyone.

She was a champion ball handler.  She would take a basketball and put on quite an exhibition.  She would roll the ball around and bounce it off of her nose.  She was a dog equivilant of the Harlem Globetrotters.  Everyone who saw her performances was amazed.

Unfortunately, Callie Rose’s health began failing in May.  We took her to the vet, and he photoruled out diabetes.  She was losing weight.  We told the vet we didn’t want to do anything extraordinary.  She was almost 14 years old.  She had led a good life.  We weren’t ready to say good-bye, but we weren’t going to prolong a life that was less than full for Callie Rose.  One thing I was really sad about was the fact she was not going to be able to walk the route with me anymore.  Two weeks ago I was walking the route.  I was about 1 1/2 miles into the walk when I felt a nudge.  I looked down and there was Callie Rose.  She had walked the route and caught up with me.  I carried her the rest of the way.

On Monday, Callie Rose went to her reward.  We miss her so much.  She definitely left her paw prints on our hearts.

Until Next time…