Lena, Teacup Poodle w/ adrenal tumor - Lena is now an angel

For you, Lee...I just wanted to put this where I could find it. It's a beautiful poem that Leslie posted...I think of you every day. Love, Mommy...

[CENTER]FRIEND
I lost a treasured friend today
The little dog who used to lay
Her gentle head upon my knee
And shared her silent thoughts with me.

She’ll come no longer to my call
Retrieve no more her favourite ball
A voice far greater than my own
Has called her to his golden throne.

Although my eyes are filled with tears
I am thankful for the happy years
She spent down here with me
And for her love and loyalty.

When it is time for me to go
And join her there, this much I know
I shall not fear the transient dark
For she will greet me with a bark.

~Author Unknown[/CEN

Joan that is such a beautiful poem. :( I also just read your earlier post about taking Lena to the beach. Whiskey loves to swim & Has been to the Jersey shore a few times and we always took him to my Aunts home in the Poconos to swim in the lake. Sadly she passed away suddenly in December and the home was sold.:( Lots of happy memories though. My daughters have been to Long Island many times to visit friends. They always make the drive to Montauk, & tell me it's absolutely beautiful. Lena was lucky to enjoy life to the fullest with you. :)

My mother has a house in Woodloch Springs, a part of Woodloch Pines, in the Poconos and Lee and I used to go all the time. She loved it there...just the two of us in the car together, sharing cheeseburgers at the rest stops, and then being pampered by by Mom and Dad. A whole "Mommy and me" weekend. I haven't been there since she died. My father passed away 8 years ago and my mom is living here in Huntington with my sister now...she has Alzheimer's.

But we still have the house and I think I will take Sibbie there. Going back with Lena was on my bucket list after her diagnosis, but we didn't get the chance.

Lena grew up in Kings Point on the water and loved the beach and the sand...so many smells and things to investigate! She never really went in the water though. She did like the pool!

We had a black Lab growing up and we used to go Upstate to Gilbert Lake and she just loved diving into the lakes and swimming. I love to watch dogs swim. They look so free and happy. I hope you have pictures of Whiskey swimming, he sure is a cutie!

Montauk is definitely beautiful. I have a friend who lives in East Hampton, and while visiting, we sometimes go to Montauk for dinner. You should take a trip here with your daughters and check it out. They are pretty dog-friendly out there

My golden retriever just loved the water. Always up for a swim and a fiesty shake afterwards.
She loved to fall asleep right at the edge of the lake and you know how goldens just love to turn their bellies up to the sun :) I don't know how many times she'd be sleeping by the lake edge, roll onto her back for some belly sun and fall into the lake, then have to take a swim since she was already there.
They are our companions and friends and bring such joy to our lives.

They certainly do, Sharlene. We have two fish ponds in the backyard and after we dug the first one out and filled it with Koi, Lena used to touch noses with one of them who we called Dottie. She was so friendly and would come to the surface to greet us, especially to see Lee.

Well, I can't tell you how many times she either fell or jumped in and I had to fish her out~ One time I heard this whining and I was on the deck and kept thinking it was a hawk flying around. I kept looking in the sky and didn't see anything, when I all of a sudden I realized that I hadn't seen Lena for a while. I went running down to the pond and there she was, hanging on for dear life in the corner of the pond. After that episode, we built up a little wall around the pond so we didn't have to worry about that happening again.

A few years later, unbeknownst to us, a great blue heron found our pond and came for breakfast every day and ate my poor Dottie, along with all of the other Koi in there. I couldn't figure out what was eating them (thought maybe a raccoon or cat) until one morning I was out early and saw it jump from our neighbor's garage roof, onto our grape arbor, and down into the courtyard where the pond was...mystery solved! He was gorgeous, but I had to put a stop to it.

That was the end of Koi for us. We barricaded the pond and filled it with cheap goldfish instead...lol!

This is one of my favorite memories of my darling girl. Sibbie has fallen in once because she is tall enough to climb up on the wall, so we got her a pool so she could jump in there to cool off and she loves it.

As I'm writing this, Sibbie is sitting in my lap, with her head on the table and my laptop, just the way Lee used to do. This is the first time she has wanted to do this...I know my darling is sending me a sign that she's with me.

What a beautiful poem and such wonderful memories.

My dear, sweet Lena...today is six months since you left me. I still find it hard to believe. It seems so long to me, not seeing your sweet little face as you watched me, or holding you in my arms all the time. I miss everything about you and not a day goes by where I am not thinking of you. I can't believe I still have tears left to cry...but I do.

You were always such a good girl, never a problem, never mean or cranky...a happy, sweet angel, always, from the minute you came to us. You are the dog of my heart, Lee, and you always will be.

Your brothers are fine, Gabe still misses you, though. He still won't sleep upstairs with us. Cooper is Cooper, and I think Doree gets lonely for you sometimes, too. I think you would have like Sibbie...she is adorable, but can really be a holy terror.

Give Phoenix, Tem and Andee a kiss for me...and all the others who went before them, too many to mention, but I hope you are all together and playing, lounging in the sun and happy.

I love you with all my heart, Lena, I always will...my precious, angel child.

Love, Mommy

(((Hugs)))

Hugs & caring thoughts from us as you remember your sweet little girl.

Checking in Joan. I can't believe it's been six months. Seems so long, but so short. I hope you are starting to feel better and yesterday wasn't too tough on you.