I’ve been around dogs, cats, horses, and other various animals my whole life. Even raised a Great Horned Owl for a while. So I can tell you I really love animals.

I lost my Father and Mother eight weeks apart. My dad (USMCR, Ret.) died Nov. 13th, 04. Three days after the Marine Corps Birthday. A day that was very special to both of us. See I was in the Marines also, (81-87). My mother passed 8 weeks later. I think she went because her true love was waiting for her. In my fathers will he said I was to receive his horse, Friday. He stipulated that if I couldn’t take him I was to “put him down”. Of course I couldn’t do that. Friday being my fathers last horse in a long list of great animals.
I took the horse from AZ to TX. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He came from a 1/4 acre corral to 52 acres! Talk about watching a horse “run free”.

After mom passed we, “the kids” had to figure out what to do with the dogs. I took my fathers red bone hound, Sadie and my sister took my moms dog….an Akita. Sadie loved the land in TX. I let her run like hounds need to. She’s a very happy girl.

It was months later and I was still in the midst of the pain of the loss of my parents. I decided to sleep out in the winter night air one night on my property. It was a beautiful night, the moon was full and the night sky was lit up with a billion stars. I decided to grab my dad’s bed roll he used for hunting and camping.
I walked out on my property, out in the woods and just dropped the bed roll on the ground and unrolled it, crawled in it and just looked up in the night sky trying to ask God why he took my best friends from me. About ten minutes into my questions to God…A red bone hound came out of some trees and trotted up to me. She started sniffing the bed roll like she’d found a “fresh trail”. Then she dropped on it and started rolling around all over the top of me. I realized what she was doing. She smelled my father and it brought back good memories. That got me laughing instead of crying. She bedded down on the bed roll and enjoyed the evening with me.

I slowly fell asleep that night, not really getting the answers I needed or wanted. But I did get good nights sleep. In the morning I was stirred by the sound of a pretty big animal moving around. I awoke to Friday jumping up from his nights rest. During the night, he’d bedded down just yards from me and Sadie.

They’ve helped me work through my parents passing by being there when I need to be reminded of them. I think that’s why I’ve been given this time with them. I’ll cherish it until they or I pass.

I was going to post some pics but I’m working out of town and my lap top doesn’t have any of them. Friday is a 18 year old American Quarter Horse, coal black with a small star on his face. Sadie is a strong well built red bone with the most beautiful red eyes.

Mark, I understand how you felt about Sprite. I’ve lost a lot of pets over the years. Living in the country and working on ranches, pets lives are a little shorter than most. But that doesn’t make the pain less.

Dillon from Texas