Posting in this tribute area is never easy. But it allows us some space, and an understanding circle of friends.
Belle was the first dog I ever owned myself. I got Belle after 21 years in the Navy thinking that I could finally have a dog. I had no idea how much that dog did for me.
I Joined a retriever club
I took her to AKC Hunt tests
I started hunting again
It was on my way to a hunt test that I stopped at Jennings and my first intro to carving decoys.
She really changed how I've spent every fall for 8 years.
But with all that, she was the family dog as well and provided great joy to my wife and kids. I plan to carve a decoy for her remains and hunt with her for some time.
FWIW. Belle was struck with lymes disease. Heres the tough part. She was given annual shots and had tick meds always. In hind sight, there were some indicators, but they were so slight and masked, that its hard to tell from the normal maladies of a working dog. She had a stiff hip once or twice. She got some NSAIDS and was fine. She was acting depressed, just so happend that we moved in May and all of a sudden she stopped eating her food. Vet thought that was normal. We switched food and she started eating again. By the way she ran 5 miles with daughter a week ago. She stopped eating Thursday. The tests showed that her kidneys had shut down completely. I don't know what I would have done different.
Steve
Belle was the first dog I ever owned myself. I got Belle after 21 years in the Navy thinking that I could finally have a dog. I had no idea how much that dog did for me.
I Joined a retriever club
I took her to AKC Hunt tests
I started hunting again
It was on my way to a hunt test that I stopped at Jennings and my first intro to carving decoys.
She really changed how I've spent every fall for 8 years.
But with all that, she was the family dog as well and provided great joy to my wife and kids. I plan to carve a decoy for her remains and hunt with her for some time.
FWIW. Belle was struck with lymes disease. Heres the tough part. She was given annual shots and had tick meds always. In hind sight, there were some indicators, but they were so slight and masked, that its hard to tell from the normal maladies of a working dog. She had a stiff hip once or twice. She got some NSAIDS and was fine. She was acting depressed, just so happend that we moved in May and all of a sudden she stopped eating her food. Vet thought that was normal. We switched food and she started eating again. By the way she ran 5 miles with daughter a week ago. She stopped eating Thursday. The tests showed that her kidneys had shut down completely. I don't know what I would have done different.
Steve
SHELL ROCK IA. ,,,,,, "As sailors grow older, the wiser ones move to smaller boats." Thomas Firth Jones, Multihull Voyaging 
