"Leon" wrote in message
. net...
It was bound to happen. Our dog, my shop dog, got old and we had to put
her down Friday.
She was a Chocolate Lab and adopted our family after being traded between
3 previous families. 2 months before we were adopted we had put down our
10 year old Great Dane and I was not really ready for another dog quite
yet but the price was right. I really did not have much to do with her
but as time passed she chose me to be her companion over the other family
members and I grew very fond of her. She was a natural in the shop and I
often found her under a pile of shavings at the far side of the planer.
She loved laying out in the shop with me and keeping all the cats and
squirrels at a safe distant. She never met a person that she did not
like. But, as I mentioned, she got old and arthritis started to take its
toll starting about a year ago. Little by little she had more trouble
getting up and down but never showed any sign of being in pain. At
Thanksgiving last month a 2 year old nephew crawled all over her with
never any sign of discomfort or disapproval. This month she turned 14
years old. She was a great dog and I'll miss her for a long time to come.

Because a new dog helps to relieve the pain of a lost friend we got a new
family companion today. We went for a Great Dane again and let her spend
some time in the shop this after noon. She watched with interest and
curiosity. She was 2 months old yesterday.

Sorry for your loss Leon. Do a search for Rainbow Bridge and you'll find a
long list of sites of a poem for passed on pets. It's worth looking at a few
of them as one has an addition to it for abused pets and children.
Hope your new shop dog is around for a long time to come.
Jim