A Tribute to PiP

This morning our 15 year old Golden Retriever suffered a stroke then seizures. We took him to Dunlap Vet. Clinic where Rhoda works and made the decision to have him put down. This was a hard thing for me. Pip was given to me at 6 weeks old. His mom was my mom's dog and his dad was my sister Diane's dog. Pip was the last of his line. He was a true gentleman. He was given his name from the book Great Expectations. The main character was named Pip and he wanted to be a gentleman. Pip was a true gentleman his entire 15 years. He was gentle with small children, loved to go fishing in the stock tanks, loved going to the farm and to the lake. He loved playing with his stuffed animals and loved playing ball. He was the best dog we've ever had and we will miss him.
Susan Ross brought in a very thoughtful card with 2 pictures of Pip and this written on it: Memories of Pip: Jumping into the water tanks, digging for rabbits in the field, barking to have the back barn door opened...why go the long way around? Rolling over for tummy rubs, eating the cat food, Chewing on rocks, Sunbathing on your driveway, Laying down in the outdoor arena or passing through during a lesson. His tolerance with the younger dogs, letting them play ...to a point where he would put them in their place. Following Judy around, HE was a PRINCE of a dog!
email from Steven Marchal: judy
i am soooo sorry to hear about pip. He was such an awesome dog. There were definitely times when i was sure he would live forever. I especially remember how he used to climb the ladder to the slide and how in the summer he would jump in the water tanks to keep cool. I will miss him always greeting me when i came over.
steven
from my brother Dan: best judge of character there ever was. "if Pip didn't like you, you were a baaaaad person"
The mailman drove up to the house today and told me he was so sorry about our losing our Golden Retriever. He told me how he would see Pip laying in the sun and when he would drive up Pip would just raise his head, wag his tail and hope to be petted.