400 Days

As soon as Ship-po was big enough she would jump up and open the gate to follow us whenever either of us went out, so I had to add this clip to the gate. Now she is no longer around to lay at my feet or follow us around the house watching over our every move. No more hearing the clang of her collar and tags. No more to demand her walk in the late evenings , play tug of war with or play fetch with indoors with her favorite squeaky toy.

We drove to the North Woods yesterday to bury Ship-po next to Tun-Tun. When Tun-Tun slowed down she used to schlop up water in her jowls and take it to Tun-Tun as he was resting. He would drink up and set his head back down. They were almost never apart. After Tun-Tun died she adopted his blanket we used to keep him warm as he got very old. She would often sit very still with her blanky grasped tight in her front paws, noise stuffed deep into its folds. She would toss it around at times often covering herself as if to play hide and seek as we would ask, "Where's Ship-po?" All torn and tattered we buried her blanky with her.

With the many difficulties, health and otherwise, that have come to pass over the past decade or so in my life I often wonder if I would have survived or overcome without my dogs. Their therapeutic effects well recognized.

Born September 19, 2003 she died sometime in the night of April 9, 2010. In dog years near my exact same age, not even seven years old. 400 days after Tun-Tun.