Bye, Heidi.

This is a pic of my beloved Heidi. Though you might not recognize it, she was a Bearded Collie (think Tim Allen in "The Shaggy Dog"). It was summer, and she got shaved every year to keep her cooler.

I remember when my first partner and I were looking for a dog. We went to the King County Animal Shelter, and I didn't see anything that I wanted there. We went to the Seattle City Animal Shelter, and I didn't see anything there that I wanted either. Then we went to the Seattle-King County Humane Society Shelter in Bellevue.

Now understand that there are dogs of all kinds jumping up and barking loudly in all these shelters. But I came upon one little girl who was sitting in the middle of her enclosure. She had these sad eyes that pleaded, "Please get me out of here. I don't like the noise."

I replied to her out loud, "I know how you feel." Turning to my partner, I said, "That's my dog."

She came home that afternoon, and she had been mine until she needed to be put down, on April 15, for old age: kidney problems and arthritis. I mean, when she can't stand up to eat or poop anymore, then she is suffering.

Bye-bye, baby-dog. I miss you.