Chloe

Once again, it was the baby daughter who caused a dog to come live at our house. She was in high school and had gone to the mall to Christmas shop with a friend. They were selling puppies in the parking lot. Guess what we she got her Daddy for Christmas that year?!
She tied a ribbon around the puppy's neck and came carrying up the driveway. I am not sure who was prouder, she or her Dad.
He loves to duck hunt. She was determine that the puppy was going to be a duck dog. As far as I can recall, the only duck that dog every had in its mouth was a toy one a friend of mine bought her to play with.  She was a pet, through and through; like our dogs always tend to be.
She grew up to be sweet natured and beautiful.
She was always playful.  With everyone, but most especially her master and the one who gave her to him. They taught her to retrieve. She loved to swim and we took her to the lake often. But she never became the duck dog they intended. Tragedy struck first.

If you read my post about the outside dog named Disney, the real Dalmatian, then you know that after she was run over I said I hoped I never went through something like that again.
Well we did. With Chloe. And it was just as awful.
We were having a family dinner. Everyone came in through the back gate. The last to arrive were my sister and brother-in-law. He came through first and left the gate ajar thinking she was right behind him. Before she entered, she remembered something she needed to bring in from her car and turned back to get it. Chloe, seeing a chance to run amuck bolted out the gate before anyone could stop her.
She ran immediately across the street. The Hub and son ran after her. Sonny was out front, being the younger and faster of the two. The Hub was calling to her and before Sonny could yell "No, Dad, don't call her, there's a car coming" she turned to run back across and to her master. The timing could not have been worse. Both the Hub and Sonny say they still have bad dreams about what happened next.
They loaded her up and took her to our vet who tried to save her but without success. They brought her back home and we buried her behind the shed during the time we intended to be celebrating.
We all felt terrible but no one more than my sister and brother-in-law.
Some folks still believe she'd have made a fabulous gun dog.  The blonde lab who replaced her is gun shy. She came to us shy and nothing we've done has completely cured that. She, like my original pet, Shorty, is scared even of thunder.
We still miss our sweet Chloe, as we miss Disney. I, as much as anyone else.
I guess that makes it hard for anyone to believe I am not a dog lover, as I have so often declared.