A GOOD FRIEND

MADDIE AND FELINE FRIEND COTTON

Good friends come in all shapes, sizes, colors, gender and species. Friendships I think are intended to be a life time relationship verses an acquittance who is someone you know. Friends are someone you know very well through years of living ,working or doing things together. Maddie our cocker spaniel was a good friend to all of our family and neighbors for almost 15 years.

She came to live with us back in August of 1994, having been born in June of that year she was still a pup. She originally was a gift to our daughter on her 16 th birthday from her boyfriend at that time. When Sarah moved off to college and then on to her own home afterwards Maddie stayed on with us. Even so you could always see the special affection Maddie had when Sarah would come to visit or when she would go to stay with her when we traveled and were away from home.


In 1995 we bought a cottage at Tri Lakes and then in 1998 we bought a permanent home on the lake. Maddie loved the lake but not the water, it's true dogs are natural swimmers but you could never coax her into to swim on her own will. On the other hand she loved boating, all you had to do was say "let's go for a boat ride" and she would run and jump on.


She had a fatty tumor for several years but it hadn't slowed her down much. This past year we started noticing a decline in her senses and behavior. She loss her hearing first and spent most of the day sleeping often not knowing what was going on around her. Shortly after I returned to Haiti in March she lost her vision and started bumping into things. She could be gone for hours when we would let her out and this became alarming that she would get lost. So right before my wife's scheduled departure for Haiti, we had to make that decision that many pet owners have to make of having her put to sleep.


Even now several months later I find myself expecting to be greeted by her when we return home . I sometimes catch myself wondering if she needs put outside before we go to bed at night. Now that summer is finally here I find myself thinking about her when we take the boat out for a ride on the lake.

I won't go as far as to say that "dogs are man's best friend" but they are very good friends and companions. When they are no longer there you miss them just as much as a family member or a close friend. We decided years ago that Maddie would be our last dog, that we were coming to a new point in our lives where we didn't want the responsibility of pet ownership because of our travels. Maybe there will come another point in our life that we do want and need the companionship, love and friendship that a dog can bring but for now our memories of Maddie are enough. We had Maddie cremated and she now rests down by the Lake where she loved to lay and wait for a boat ride. In God's love , Steve