In Memory of
Barney
who died July 3, 2007
who died July 3, 2007
| Mattie (left), Barney, (middle) and Jet, (right) sitting in a motorcycle sidecar. |
Barney was my friend Jane's dog whom I
adopted along with Mattie when Jane died.
Barney was a shelter dog who escaped from the
Middletown shelter and was later picked up in
Durham. Jane fell in love with him and took
him home to be a companion for her dog Tess
a shepherd hound mix. Jane and her sister Lois
described the trip from Durham to Avon as
quite the horrific ride. It was hot and humid.
Her car was not air-conditioned. Barney had
terrible gas and was shedding bales of fur that
stuck to their skin. He panted and drooled all
the way home.
Barney appeared to be part Elkhound or Husky
and was a dog who loved to run in the woods.
He reminded me of a coyote. In fact he
disappeared on all of us so many times, I lost
count. He always showed up back at the car
before we did and was ready to head home after
his solo adventure.
In his younger days he loved to swim and spent
hours at Fisher Meadow in the pond. Once he
followed a swan to the middle of the pond. We
were sure she was planning to get him out there
and then drown him. We called to him from
the shore to no avail. Finally he swam ashore,
raced off into the woods only to return about an
hour later tired and happy and ready to go
home.
As he got older, he was happy just to get his feet
wet and roam the fields and woods. Barney was
both pushy and attention-seeking and aloof and
independent. Barney has been one of the
oddest personality dogs I have ever met. He
was a dog that could leave you for hours at
Guifreida Park in a rainstorm without a care in
the world, yet the dog who could break out of a
metal crate during a thunderstorm or remove a
door frame.
Barney and Tess were the chipmunk
assassination team in Jane's backyard. Tess
would bang the woodpile and Barney would wait
for a chipmunk to make a run for it. In that
yard, Barney and Tess had their infamous run-
in with a skunk that proved to be rabid. They
dug up gardens and even dug up the foundation
to the stairs to the deck. Barney was always
digging a hole to snooze in. At my house he
created his own den under a bench in the yard
and spent hours there.
Barney lived a life full of adventure - hiking,
hunting, swimming, and running through fields.
He ate a pile of suet and a spoiled corned beef.
Once he climbed into my brand new car, ate my
seat belt and climbed back out. This dog lived
so many adventures that we don’t even know
about.
Tess became ill with bladder cancer and was
put down at home. Barney was out on the deck
at the other end of the house. Tom our vet said
that the instant Tess' heart stopped beating,
Barney began to howl. He had never before or
since howled.
When Jane died of lung cancer, Barney never
seemed to recover from losing her. He and
Mattie came to live with me in the summer of
2004. Mattie adjusted beautifully. Barney
never fully adjusted. In the beginning, he would
sit behind my SUV waiting for a ride home. He
took to a man with whom I was in a long-term
relationship. When the man left abruptly,
Barney didn’t adjust well to losing his guy
friend.
In the past year, Barney aged considerably, lost
most of his hearing and seemed to suffer from
senility. He did not want to be handled and
would bite me if I tried to handle him. Other
than that, he was content, loved spending hours
in the yard, loved to eat and snooze on a comfy
bed. So Barney and I managed to work
together to make the last year a good retirement
year.
Barney had a wonderful life filled with joy and
love. He also had a great smile!
Today he left this world surrounded by people
who loved him. He was about 15 years old.
Thank you to
Tom Morganti and Ellen for helping me let him
go today.
Everyone at Avon Vet for all the care and love
they gave Barney over the years
My friends who accepted my having this odd
little senile unpredictable dog in my home over
the last year.
Jane for giving me Barney and Tess as her last
gifts to me.
Karen
Give your pets a hug today. They are truly gifts
we are blessed to have in our lives.
adopted along with Mattie when Jane died.
Barney was a shelter dog who escaped from the
Middletown shelter and was later picked up in
Durham. Jane fell in love with him and took
him home to be a companion for her dog Tess
a shepherd hound mix. Jane and her sister Lois
described the trip from Durham to Avon as
quite the horrific ride. It was hot and humid.
Her car was not air-conditioned. Barney had
terrible gas and was shedding bales of fur that
stuck to their skin. He panted and drooled all
the way home.
Barney appeared to be part Elkhound or Husky
and was a dog who loved to run in the woods.
He reminded me of a coyote. In fact he
disappeared on all of us so many times, I lost
count. He always showed up back at the car
before we did and was ready to head home after
his solo adventure.
In his younger days he loved to swim and spent
hours at Fisher Meadow in the pond. Once he
followed a swan to the middle of the pond. We
were sure she was planning to get him out there
and then drown him. We called to him from
the shore to no avail. Finally he swam ashore,
raced off into the woods only to return about an
hour later tired and happy and ready to go
home.
As he got older, he was happy just to get his feet
wet and roam the fields and woods. Barney was
both pushy and attention-seeking and aloof and
independent. Barney has been one of the
oddest personality dogs I have ever met. He
was a dog that could leave you for hours at
Guifreida Park in a rainstorm without a care in
the world, yet the dog who could break out of a
metal crate during a thunderstorm or remove a
door frame.
Barney and Tess were the chipmunk
assassination team in Jane's backyard. Tess
would bang the woodpile and Barney would wait
for a chipmunk to make a run for it. In that
yard, Barney and Tess had their infamous run-
in with a skunk that proved to be rabid. They
dug up gardens and even dug up the foundation
to the stairs to the deck. Barney was always
digging a hole to snooze in. At my house he
created his own den under a bench in the yard
and spent hours there.
Barney lived a life full of adventure - hiking,
hunting, swimming, and running through fields.
He ate a pile of suet and a spoiled corned beef.
Once he climbed into my brand new car, ate my
seat belt and climbed back out. This dog lived
so many adventures that we don’t even know
about.
Tess became ill with bladder cancer and was
put down at home. Barney was out on the deck
at the other end of the house. Tom our vet said
that the instant Tess' heart stopped beating,
Barney began to howl. He had never before or
since howled.
When Jane died of lung cancer, Barney never
seemed to recover from losing her. He and
Mattie came to live with me in the summer of
2004. Mattie adjusted beautifully. Barney
never fully adjusted. In the beginning, he would
sit behind my SUV waiting for a ride home. He
took to a man with whom I was in a long-term
relationship. When the man left abruptly,
Barney didn’t adjust well to losing his guy
friend.
In the past year, Barney aged considerably, lost
most of his hearing and seemed to suffer from
senility. He did not want to be handled and
would bite me if I tried to handle him. Other
than that, he was content, loved spending hours
in the yard, loved to eat and snooze on a comfy
bed. So Barney and I managed to work
together to make the last year a good retirement
year.
Barney had a wonderful life filled with joy and
love. He also had a great smile!
Today he left this world surrounded by people
who loved him. He was about 15 years old.
Thank you to
Tom Morganti and Ellen for helping me let him
go today.
Everyone at Avon Vet for all the care and love
they gave Barney over the years
My friends who accepted my having this odd
little senile unpredictable dog in my home over
the last year.
Jane for giving me Barney and Tess as her last
gifts to me.
Karen
Give your pets a hug today. They are truly gifts
we are blessed to have in our lives.
| Barney sound asleep on his new bed in January 2007. |