We let Keeper go earlier today.
She was three weeks to the day into the approximate one month time frame we had been given. It's less than a month since we'd lost her Golden sister Abby . . . . so a cruel month for ourselves and them considering they'd been here 12 years (Abby) and 11 years for Keeper.
She had a good weekend, interested in life and her surroundings but, as we were warned might happen at any moment, the cancer bomb inside her likely burst in the last day, leading to increased debilitation and disorientation through only a few hours. The end was near, one way or the other. I had to carry her to the vehicle and then into the clinic. It was a peaceful passing . . . .
Keeper was the most innocent being I think I've ever known, completely without guile or pretense. It was a privilege to have known such a beautiful, unguarded soul.
Keeper came to us as an owner surrender at one year of age, kicked out of town where she'd been exiled to her back yard, loving to bark at anything that happened to pass in the night . . . . but that loud carefulness wasn't too much appreciated in town while, in the country, as below, she fit right in and enjoyed her hobby of barking at nothing, particularly at sunset.
As below, she lived a carefree life on the prairie and on mountainous expeditions, with many adventures . . . . .
. . . . . but these, below, were her last moments, a week ago, frail by then and the end coming soon but an iconic image . . . . .
Abby and Keeper spent most of their lives together and passed only a month apart, so we'd like to think Keeper has joined Abby once again, as below, forging new trails wherever they are . . . .
. . . . . and earlier this summer, enjoying the moment . . . .
. . . . . and certainly, as below, I'll probably always think a ghostly Keeper will be walking beside me as I wander our property on a hot summer day . . . .
As with Abby, raise a glass to Keeper, named with great irony by her former owners, for a life well-lived and one that was well-loved.
Forever is a long time.
Cowperson