Yesterday Geddie died. She was only three and a half years old and literally in the prime of her life. Born March 14, 2007 she was from my first litter. Geddie was always the wallflower, she never pushed to the front, never forced her presence but she was always there ... even early on she was 'Steady Geddie'.
Geddie stayed with me until she was about 3 months old and then, thanks to transportation provided by her sister Rosie's family, made her way to Utah where she was to be shown and, most importantly, adored by a loving family. She was never as evil as these eyes make her look!
I didn't see Geddie again until the following year when we met up in Montana and she took two majors that circuit. She was developing into a beautiful girl and I was so proud to see her do well. It was incredibly gratifying to know that I had a hand in bringing that gorgeous being into the world.
Geddie also dabbled in lure coursing, easily obtaining her Junior Courser title. Coursing was something which she took seriously but was not exactly passionate about, thus earning her the name 'Steady Geddie'. She'd follow the lure but would never be a world beating courser! I think running was more for fun than for sport to her although she managed to keep ahead of Raimi and Zero during the one time they met as adults at the Montana show in 2008.
Earlier this year Geddie was mom to her first litter and was a shining example of a wonderful broodbitch. Her puppies are maturing into healthy, sound, stable, typey dogs who will do her credit. Her genes will live on in them and through them.
Geddie now runs in the fields just this side of The Rainbow Bridge. She waits there with her Grandma Kinley and Daddy Travis, and she joined them much too soon. My deepest condolences to the Neilson family and to Erin at Aegis for this tragic, senseless loss. I did not know Geddie as an adult but she was family, I helped her into this world and I am sick to know she is gone. Her steady, kind, devoted presence will be missed by all who knew and loved her. To those she leaves behind I can only offer my sincere gratitude for giving this girl a richly fulfilled life and the best of care - my only wish is that she was still by your side. Rest in peace Geddie.
(I post tomorrow on how to prevent a death like this, explanations of how she died did not fit her memorial. )
1 comment:
Tamzin: thank you for this tribute to Geddie. We (the Nielsons) are still torn up by Geddie's death. The first time we saw Geddie, we were checking on a litter that Paris just had. Erin and I had talked about possibly getting a puppy from Halo and Travis' first litter, but I wanted a male, and, dammit, Halo made a bunch of girls and the two(?) boys were spoken for. I had no interest in a girl. As we were about to leave Erin's house, I noticed some activity in the backyard through a window. I believe my immediate expression was, "Holy crap! That's a gorgeous puppy!" Erin told me this was the pup she just brought down from Canada from Halo's litter. It's not that I was trying to guilt Erin into offering Geddie to us--my emotions were 100% genuine--but I think that Erin, seeing how smitten I and my family were (mostly me) by this beautiful animal, probably realized that the world would end if Geddie did not join our family.
The short time that we had with our "Ged" between that day and last Thursday was wonderful. All dog owners I know love to brag about their dogs. Rarely would I hear another brag from those folks after I would tell them that Geddie could keep up with a deer in a chase and that I taught her to wink. You read that right--I taught Geddie to wink on command (for food, of course). When it got close to dinner time, Geddie would let you know by approaching, establishing eye contact, and firing off several rounds of wink.
Our hearts ache. The kids talk about how much they loved her and the funny things she did that would crack us up.
Please give Halo a scratch behind the ear for us.
Paul, Joy, Calvin, Elise and Cameron Nielson.
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