In Memory: Emmy Kaake

Sarah:

We said goodbye to our sweet Miss Emmy this morning. In February we celebrated her 9th Got Day anniversary from MABCR. Of all the dogs I’ve ever had, she was by far the sweetest soul. She was the only dog my husband had ever invited up to lay in bed with us. She loved getting belly rubs and just hanging out with us, wherever in the house we were. While initially nervous in the car, she settled and frequently rode back and forth from northern Virginia to North Carolina with me when we visited my daughter. She didn’t have the characteristic Border Collie drive — if anything, she was the consummate couch potato! When we initially brought her home, she was 5 years old and we had to teach her how to play with toys. She glommed onto her squeaky hedgehog but could care less about the balls, the rope tugs, or other stuffies. She preferred not to be around other dogs, but every morning she would go out to the back fence, sit and wait for our neighbor’s little Lily (a Maltese-Bishon mix) to come out. And if she didn’t, she would bark for her. Funniest thing!  If Lily did come out, Emmy would turn tail and run the other way and ignore her!

Miss Emmy would greet each day, bouncing out of her bed, give me a hug between my knees as I rubbed her ears, then bound down the stairs to make sure the Resident Elf (my hubby) didn’t forget to leave food in her bowl. She always ate like she had been starved to death and it would be her last meal! As she got older, she wasn’t keen on going on our walks any longer. But she would do her twice-daily walkabout in the yard sniffing absolutely every scent there was to be captured by her nose. Her hearing went a couple of years ago, and this past winter, her rear legs started to give out. She was kept comfortable with some helpful drugs, but last week she had come to the point she couldn’t hold herself up to do her potty business.

So it was with a heavy heart we said goodbye. I will miss her hugs, her sweet spirit, her excitement to get each day started, and her wonderful companionship. See you in heaven, my dear Emmy.

Going forward, if you come across another dog you think would fit into our family, please let me know. The house is so empty right now.

Cordially,

Kathleen