Remembering Dylan....

Today is eight years to the day that our sweet Dylan made the trip across the Rainbow Bridge. It's a bittersweet date that we remember each year. Dylan lived most of his life before the digital photograph era so bear with me as I share a few photos of photos of Dylan.

Here he is as a young pup, shortly after coming into my life. I was in my mid-twenties, sulking over the breakup with a long term boyfriend. Dylan had the huge job of healing my broken heart. He did an excellent job and then some!

I didn't expect him to be anything but a pet. I did take him to obedience class where he was the star pupil. He also quickly learned how to train me. Anytime he wanted something, he would use his cutest pose to ask for it. He was very hard to resist.

Even way back then, we were visiting Myrtle Beach, and Dylan did not escape the task of posing for my camera.

He didn't get the benefit of all the dog-focused training/agility hobby I do now, but he went many places we did. Where ever he went, he gathered a crowd! What type of dog is that? Is he a mutt? We joked that he needed a pre-printed vest, saying, I am a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, My Name is Dylan, Yes, You can pet me, Yes, I am supposed to look like this. We must have answered those questions a million times. Cardis where much more rare back in those days and no one knew the breed. Here in this picture, he is cooling off in the reflecting pond down in DC.  That is the Lincoln Memorial in the background.

A weekend at a more local beach......

Dylan's favorite thing in life was to play frisbee. I guess it was his herding dog obsession. He would have played until he dropped dead if you didn't call an end to the game. He would even swim under water to retrieve his beloved frisbee if it sank to the bottom of a stream! He's probably about 12 in this picture and still trying to keep the game going.

Of course, whether we like it or not, time marches on. What a pity dogs are given such a short, short time with us. This was taken on, you guessed it!, Dylan's 16th and last birthday. He still had many months left, but time was catching up with him.

A White Christmas is a very, very rare treat here in Virginia. On Dylan's last one, we awoke to the most amazing sight. Huge wet flakes were coming down, quickly covering the grass and the trees. It was magical and we wasted no time getting out there for pictures. It was a very special morning.

This last photo was taken in July of 2003, just a day or two before we had to let him go. He missed his 17th birthday by only two weeks. He was blind, he was deaf, but in true Cardigan fashion, he was going to get a bite of our food, dammit!



Man, how I loved that dog! Here it is eight years later and my throat is tight, my eyes are teary. He was a wonderful part of my life and I owe him alot. Wilson and Jimmy, my whole circle of dog friends, a hobby I love, all those can be credited to him. What a lucky day it was, the day I met Dylan!