When my Girls were young, we adopted a little mut from the dog pound. Little did I know then, that this little dog would have such an influence on our family. My son never knew life with out her. She lived for 18 years and when the end came, we like you Mark, were torn beyond belief as to what to do. She had dementia and would get real nervous at night. my wife spent many nights up trying to comfort her. I remember the last day we had her. I was working in the yard and I had her with me, she was in so much pain and seemed to look at me as to say its OK, I am ready to go. That day at the vet, I held her in my arms as she slipped from this life to the next. Later I wrote a few lines, about what she meant to us. I am sending that to you, in hopes you will read it on the air as a tribute to our great dog Dingy.

She wasn’t much to look at. The product of a neighborhood indiscretion, her mom was a registered Dachshund and her dad left town before she was born; but to me and my 5 year old daughter, we knew we had found a friend, when we first saw her in the back of the dog catchers truck. What shall we call her. Carly asked? “She looks a little dingy”, I said, and some how the name stuck.

We took her home and it was love at first sight for Lynette and 1 year old Hayley. She knew right away she had found a good home and never took it for granted. She looked over those 2 girls like an older sister and when there little brother Josh came along she took him right under her wing.
She was there for all of us when we were feeling down and never seemed to get in the way. Carly always said she had to live until she got married, and she did. It’s rare for a dog to live 18 years, but everything about her was rare. It wasn’t easy the last few months and Lynette was always there for Dingy. In the end she seemed to say ” I can’t die on my own will you please help me” , and we did. It’s been said that dog is mans best friend, at times for all of us, I’m sure it seemed as though Dingy was our only friend. Now that she is gone, it leaves a big hole, but as Carly said ” I bet Grandpa Vern was there to greet her. I can almost hear him say ” Hello old fiend, lets go find that old snooper cat.” Life is full of twists and turns, but our families life was so much the better, thanks to a little straggle haired dog named Dingy.

Joel from Utah