Our Dogs

We’ve actually had Shandy since January, 2024, but with what happened to me in April, 2024, I’m only finally getting around to doing a small write-up about her now, in June, 2025.

I’ve been grappling with something for ten months. It was August of last year when Darby was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, and only a couple short weeks later when we put her down. I had intended to write a retrospective post about her life, and started to do so a few times, but I could never find a way to cover … Read more

After Darby left us in the fall of 2013, it was really hard thinking of adopting another dog for some time. We felt robbed of time we expected to have with her, and given that we confer people-like status to furry friends in our house, the thought of another dog almost felt like we were replacing her. Whether people or … Read more

The most shocking thing was simply the suddenness of it all. A month ago, as far as we could tell, we had a healthy dog closing in on 11 years old. By all outward signs, Darby might buck the big dog trend and live to 13 or more. Then she developed a limp and now she’s gone. In fact, she’s … Read more

As friends and acquaintances have asked, I’ve had to tell this story too many times now, and we’re not yet at the final chapter. I’m writing this partly as reference for further requests, and partly to get the words down just as I want them. I probably still won’t get it right, but you can’t hear my voice crack in … Read more