Goodbye Brees

We said goodbye to our dog, Brees, this week. We got her when Jim's cousin Tom's dog had her first litter of pups back in 2000. They were right next door, and too cute to resist. We named her after our favorite quarterback who led our team to the Rose Bowl that year.

Here is Adam holding little Brees in my parents' driveway.

 She appeared in David's senior picture. (All the girls wanted that one. Aww.)

And she also appeared in our Christmas card. The Boilers were bound for Pasadena, and we were too! (All but the dog, of course.) Notice that while Andrew and I were trying to wrangle the dog, Adam is keeping a fingertip hold on the most precious Drew Brees autographed football. :)

Two years later, another litter was born next door, and we added Mini to the family - 'Mini Brees' to be precise. While they looked alike as young puppies, Brees grew to be a darker, rust colored gold, while Mini was the blonde. They were a pair, Brees and Mini. Mini and Brees.

They lived outside on the farm, and spent their days chasing cats, greeting visitors, and accepting treats from the girls in the office. In recent years, we had them shaved in the summer to keep them more comfortable in the heat, and get rid of that dirty old winter coat. This was Brees last summer in a 'before and after' haircut shot. It was later last summer that Mini died. I wrote about it here.

Brees was the more independent of the two dogs, so while she did okay without Mini, we could tell she missed her. At age 14, her hearing was gone, and she didn't see too well.  She had thyroid issues, and arthritis made it hard for her to get around.

In the last few weeks, a young cat had been hanging around, and Jim took this photo when he found them snuggled up together in Brees' dog house a few days before she died. I think animals have a special sense about life and death and the connection between living things. And while the cat may return, we have, interestingly, not seen it since Brees died.

Sweet dreams, Brees. We'll miss you. We loved you.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small.

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.