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Harriet

Greetings, All-

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I bring you the sad news of the passing of Harriet.  After a storied life of more than 15 years, she is finally in doggy heaven.  It has been a blessing to have her as a companion for so many years, and the happy memories outweigh the negative 10,000 to 1.

All of you knew her in some capacity- from siblings weekends at Lycoming college, trips up to the hunting cabin, visiting her and Me-ma, bonfires or visits at our house in Vegas, relaxing on the trampoline with her in Me-mas back yard, being the \”tallest dog in Rutherford\”, and 15 years worth of other stories.  Her tricks were legendary- my favorites were: speak, pray, and of course \”flea check\”.  She would do anything for a bit of cheese.  She was also an accomplished hunter, bagging squirrel, chipmunk, rabbit, and an occasional grasshopper.

Harriet was born in the mountains near Dunbar, PA (south of Pittsburgh), in an area nicknamed \”Cow Rock\”:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=cow+rock+rd,+dunbar,+pa&sll=39.972072,-79.595003&sspn=0.013205,0.021887&ie=UTF8&ll=39.970822,-79.595325&spn=0.013205,0.021887&t=h&z=16

She was less than a year old when her first owner, my great-uncle Alvin (Me-mas brother) succumbed to cancer in 1994.  (This was the same uncle who left me his VW Rabbit, my first car and 1 of many VW\’s.)  I was only 16 so I wasn\’t privy to the discussions about Harriets\’ fate, but after that rough start in the south-west corner of Pennsylvania,  she finally ended up with my family in Harrisburg.  I\’m skipping many details, (failed out of obedience school, turned down by another family because she snipped at their baby, etc) but she ended up living on Market St. with us through my last high school and early college years.  Harriet then moved in with me and Me-ma for the last years of Me-ma\’s life, and Harriet came with us when Briar & I married and moved to Philadelphia in August 2005.  In August 2006 we headed west to Las Vegas, and along with our other puppy Kylie, Harriet enjoyed the cross-country drive from the back seat of our VW Corrado.

For the past 2+ years she has been very healthy and happy, often playing with the neighborhood kids while Kylie ran and hid under the bed.  Only in the past year did we notice some minor arthritis pains, and at some point she went stone deaf.  Her eyesight, smell, and appetite remained strong!  She quickly learned to use the doggy door, and had the run of the yard and house.  She and Kylie enjoyed snacking on the dried fruit from the nectarine and apricot trees in the backyard, and they could often be found lying in the desert sun, both inside and in the yard.  As I work from home, the vast majority of the time she had someone with her, and she would curl up under my desk or in her doggy bed in my office.

After Christmas, her appetite dimished and she started losing weight.  Despite trying different kinds of wet dog food, lunch meat, and her favorite- cheese, last Friday she stopped eating.  On Sunday we took her to the vet, where bloodwork revealed that her kidneys were failing.  We brought her home, made her comfortable, and lavished her with love and attention.  After a rough Sunday night, on Monday afternoon we (Briar, Andy and Kylie) took her back to the vet to say a tearful goodbye.

Thank you to all of you who have shown such enormous support through this time, and a special thanks to our wonderful family, friends and neighbors who have helped us care for our girls both recently and in the distant past.

I attached a few of my favorite pictures.  Many more pictures on andyandbriar.com
http://andyandbriar.com

Thank you all for being a part of Harriet\’s life.

-Andy & Briar from NV