A little bit more heavy in the emotion field than last night. Enjoy 
There comes a time in life when one has to pass obstacles. Sometimes these obstacles can be easy. Others are hard. Sometimes it takes a mere couple of minutes to get past. Often times they will take a while longer. We learn from every obstacle we pass. Whether it be a mistake. Or learning to drive. Being nervous. Graduating high school. Everything has something that teaches us, and prepares us for the next chapter in our life. Ranger is a milestone that will never be forgotten.
Ranger had seen obstacles from the very day he was born. Obstacles like no other could imagine experiencing. He had been beaten. Abused. He was starved and then abandoned. He had been found by a local shelter, and nursed back to health. It was a match made in heaven when my Mom came walking through the door and laid eyes on him.
I still remember the very first day we took him home. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. Cute white fluffy little clouds hung in the air. And the car smelled like dog. A smell I hadn't grown used to yet. I had little to no experience with dogs at this point. He was drooling. And whiny. And smelled like dog. I kinda liked him though. He was pretty, and very majestic looking. He had a gentle inviting puppy look in his eyes. He was fluffy, like the clouds in the sky. I liked him.
We got home, and I remember walking alongside my mom as she showed Ranger his new home. The first thing that we started to joke about was his silly ears. When he trotted along, he rested his ears back onto his head, and they bounced up and down like little pig tails on a school girl. We showed him around the lawn and took him on a tour of the house.
This was a little weird to me, having a dog inside the house. We had one long before Ranger, but when I was very young, so again, this experience was new to me. I remember one thing, that very unfamiliar dog smell. I didn't enjoy it. But I was excited to let a new friend into our house.
Not long after, he was obedience trained. He had only minor puppy issues going on, but came out a very noble dog. He was turned from a good dog, to a great dog. It was more and more a pleasure to be with him.
One of my fondest memories was when I was still a bit younger, somewhere around the age of 12 or 13. I was house sitting for my parents while they did some errands for the day. It was me and Ranger. I was happily watching MTV when I heard a knock at the door. Now Ranger had always been a very protective dog, barking non stop when someone unfamiliar was at the door, but this time he had a sort of warning in his voice. There was a strange lady that was standing there. She asked if my mother was home. I had been trying to push Ranger into the door behind me, so I could hear her better. As soon as the door behind me had started to close, she grabbed my arm. I was kind of a skinny little twerp at that age, so I didn't have the strength to fight her off. She had tried to pull me off the steps, when Ranger had squeezed through the door and jump up over me, and managed to nip the arm that was holding me. He had saved me scrawny little life.
He had done a great job protecting us throughout his life. My baby sister had been born, so he patiently sat there waiting to round her up if she strayed too far ( he was part shepherd). He chased turkeys off the lawn. and alerted anyone who entered his turf.
As time would have it, I grew up, and moved out of my parents house. Every time I would go over to visit, he would bark at me, as if informing me that I was a new sort of intruder, He would nip my clothes if I ventured to close to my mom. She was his property after all, and he had to keep intruders away from her.
Time also had slowed him down a bit. He aged very well. Still protecting his family just as good as the day he came home.
Today was the day I slammed into the biggest obstacle of my life. I was losing my old friend. He had developed a liver problem that he couldn't overcome. It had gotten the best of him.
Today was a beautiful day. The sky was blue. The sun was shining, and there little white fluffy clouds hanging in the air. There was an all too familiar smell in the air. Dog. I knelt beside a friend of many years. A friend I had grown up with. I had learned from. I had shared great times with, and had hurtled big obstacles with. I leaned in to embrace him. To grab into his beautiful black coat. To breath in that smell that had made me think of those bouncing ponytails, turkeys scrambling for their lives, and herding baby sisters. I had breathed it deep. For it's a smell I will miss for the rest of my life. Dog.
I love you so much Ranger. Rest in Peace.
There comes a time in life when one has to pass obstacles. Sometimes these obstacles can be easy. Others are hard. Sometimes it takes a mere couple of minutes to get past. Often times they will take a while longer. We learn from every obstacle we pass. Whether it be a mistake. Or learning to drive. Being nervous. Graduating high school. Everything has something that teaches us, and prepares us for the next chapter in our life. Ranger is a milestone that will never be forgotten.
Ranger had seen obstacles from the very day he was born. Obstacles like no other could imagine experiencing. He had been beaten. Abused. He was starved and then abandoned. He had been found by a local shelter, and nursed back to health. It was a match made in heaven when my Mom came walking through the door and laid eyes on him.
I still remember the very first day we took him home. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. Cute white fluffy little clouds hung in the air. And the car smelled like dog. A smell I hadn't grown used to yet. I had little to no experience with dogs at this point. He was drooling. And whiny. And smelled like dog. I kinda liked him though. He was pretty, and very majestic looking. He had a gentle inviting puppy look in his eyes. He was fluffy, like the clouds in the sky. I liked him.
We got home, and I remember walking alongside my mom as she showed Ranger his new home. The first thing that we started to joke about was his silly ears. When he trotted along, he rested his ears back onto his head, and they bounced up and down like little pig tails on a school girl. We showed him around the lawn and took him on a tour of the house.
This was a little weird to me, having a dog inside the house. We had one long before Ranger, but when I was very young, so again, this experience was new to me. I remember one thing, that very unfamiliar dog smell. I didn't enjoy it. But I was excited to let a new friend into our house.
Not long after, he was obedience trained. He had only minor puppy issues going on, but came out a very noble dog. He was turned from a good dog, to a great dog. It was more and more a pleasure to be with him.
One of my fondest memories was when I was still a bit younger, somewhere around the age of 12 or 13. I was house sitting for my parents while they did some errands for the day. It was me and Ranger. I was happily watching MTV when I heard a knock at the door. Now Ranger had always been a very protective dog, barking non stop when someone unfamiliar was at the door, but this time he had a sort of warning in his voice. There was a strange lady that was standing there. She asked if my mother was home. I had been trying to push Ranger into the door behind me, so I could hear her better. As soon as the door behind me had started to close, she grabbed my arm. I was kind of a skinny little twerp at that age, so I didn't have the strength to fight her off. She had tried to pull me off the steps, when Ranger had squeezed through the door and jump up over me, and managed to nip the arm that was holding me. He had saved me scrawny little life.
He had done a great job protecting us throughout his life. My baby sister had been born, so he patiently sat there waiting to round her up if she strayed too far ( he was part shepherd). He chased turkeys off the lawn. and alerted anyone who entered his turf.
As time would have it, I grew up, and moved out of my parents house. Every time I would go over to visit, he would bark at me, as if informing me that I was a new sort of intruder, He would nip my clothes if I ventured to close to my mom. She was his property after all, and he had to keep intruders away from her.
Time also had slowed him down a bit. He aged very well. Still protecting his family just as good as the day he came home.
Today was the day I slammed into the biggest obstacle of my life. I was losing my old friend. He had developed a liver problem that he couldn't overcome. It had gotten the best of him.
Today was a beautiful day. The sky was blue. The sun was shining, and there little white fluffy clouds hanging in the air. There was an all too familiar smell in the air. Dog. I knelt beside a friend of many years. A friend I had grown up with. I had learned from. I had shared great times with, and had hurtled big obstacles with. I leaned in to embrace him. To grab into his beautiful black coat. To breath in that smell that had made me think of those bouncing ponytails, turkeys scrambling for their lives, and herding baby sisters. I had breathed it deep. For it's a smell I will miss for the rest of my life. Dog.
I love you so much Ranger. Rest in Peace.
