Missing Woody

We lost Woody yesterday.   It’s the hardest call in the world to make….when is it time?  When has he reached the end of his journey?  Have we done everything we could to help him?  But, eventually you have to make the decision and you have to live with the loss.

Last night as the snow fell silently outside and the temperatures dropped, George and I sipped red wine and reminisced about Woody.  What a great dog!  What a good friend!  After all, he inspired my blog Walking Woody.  He has been a member of our family for a mere 8 years and has left a mighty gift behind.

Woody was named after my dad and lived up to the honor.  He loved people.  He embraced life with abandoned exuberance.  And, he adored vanilla ice cream.

Folks who knew Woody may recall his ability to lift all four paws off the floor (at once) in a gleeful bounce…repeatedly, to better send his message “Yes!  I want that!  Yes!  Let’s go for a walk!  Yes! I do want to go outside, right now!”  There was no mistaking his intent.

He loved Band Night when fellow Go Figure members showed up for an evening of music.  Mike’s drums almost block the back door, but not quite.  Woody played Mike like a fine-tuned instrument and smooth talked him into letting him in and out dozens of times during the evening.  Wood y learned to tiptoe his way through the multiple speaker wires and squeeze his skinny self between the snare and the cymbals, around behind Mike, to slide through the door. Mike could open it from behind his back without missing a beat.

Golden Retrievers are water lovers, but it took Woody a few years to discover its wonderful attributes.  He preferred to wait on the pier (and bark) while we played and swam in the river.  We eventually lured him in and taught him to swim.  Sort of.  His physique (skinny and long-legged) made swimming hard.  I’m sure he tolerated the huge effort just to cool off on hot summer days.

The beach was a favorite place for Woody – that makes him a true blue Jackson!  He’d start to smile when we rounded the crest of the Wright Brothers Bridge.  He could hardly contain himself by the time we pulled into 1023 N. Virginia Dare Trail.  (It was impossible to use his gleeful bounce while riding in the back of the car)

I like to think of Woody as my dog…my best friend, but to be fair I have to admit that he loved George unconditionally.  His all-time favorite time of day came in the evening, after dinner but before bedtime.  George would often check around outside…walk the yard, safeguard the house.  Woody knew this was coming and was airborne before George could get his coat on.  It was their time together and I know George will miss the company.

My morning walks with Woody will be sorely missed.  I’m likely not to go it alone.  He’s been a wonderful companion and my constant companion since my retirement.  Living away from Elizabeth City, and with George spending many hours on campus, he’s often been my only companion.  Oh, how I will pine for him, but I’ll keep his memory and spunk alive and keep on blogging.

Walking Woody or Still Walking Woody or Missing Woody…..I’ll remember and it’s all good.