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| 2006 |
Our neurotic but happy-go-lucky little English Setter Ben passed on Friday, Jan 13 at age 14 1/2. A series of seizures on early evening left him unresponsive, ending a slow health decline that began back in September of 2016 when he got Vestibular Disease (senior dog vertigo).
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| sleepy pookie ~2006 |
Ben came to us in Sept of 2002, a wee little sprite of a thing, all floppy ears, uncoordinated paws and long of tail. His "sister" Kia took an immediate dislike to him - we found out later she had an under active thyroid and wasn't feeling well so that explained a lot. Sibling relations slowly improved and we soon had the dynamic duo making us laugh, groan, and occasionally gnash our teeth.
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| Ben and Kia ~2008 |
While the Husband had hopes to train Ben as a bird dog, we soon found out he was gun shy - which included fireworks, thunderstorms, and the vacuum cleaner. While guns, thunderstorms and fireworks were his bane until his passing, in his senior years, he decided the vacuum wasn't all that bad.
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| Cody Kia Ben ~2009 |
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| Ben and Andy ~2012 |
Ben's absolute favorite was car rides. He was happiest in the back of a car - it didn't matter if the car was parked in the yard, a parking lot, at the Folks house, he wanted to be in the car. A bit problematic sometimes when the weather drops below 0*.
His second favorite was his pool. Ben loved the water. When he was a puppy, we took him down to Lake Superior to introduce him to the water while we threw sticks for Kia. When we next looked, this 9 month old puppy was heading for Wisconsin! There was a bit of angst about getting him to turn back around. All was well.
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| swimmy poo! 2008 |
Ben's favorite place to sleep was under the bed or couch. Amazing really, to watch a 50lb dog crawl under the bed, but it was his safe spot until his hips wouldn't let him do that any more.
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| Hard day of digging |
Ben-pup will be with us a long time, even though he has physically gone: his fine English Setter hair is in everything. Years ago my folks sold a suburban with a black, carpeted interior - we joke to this day that Ben's fur is probably still embedded in that carpeting. I'm sure I will be finding "Ben" for years to come in nooks and crannies around the house.
So we wish Ben a fond farewell.
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| May you find many mice to hunt. |
2 comments:
Ben was a great dog. I used to love watching him dart into the tall grass, and then come up to the house to "check in" before darting back into the grass. He was a great bird dog! His ability to point out chickadees was unparalleled. He will be missed.
Oh, yes, how could I forget the "checking in"?! I adored that trait, one bark by the window to say "Here I am!" and a "good boy" would send him on his way. So sweet.
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