Thank You

Mike and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our family, friends and strangers that have sent heartfelt messages to us about Molly.  It has touched our hearts to know that she touched so many.  I was in tears by the time I finished reading each message; but it's all part of the healing process, and it's helped greatly.

We would also like to thank the staff at Abbeydale Animal Clinic in St. Thomas.  Molly's very first visit was there; and although the staff has changed over the years; the care that we have received over the years was great.  A special thanks to Dr. Yvonne Ennis for helping Molly (and us) make the transition to dog heaven a little easier. 

Even today when we went in to settle the bill and get her clay paw print, they showed nothing but care and concern.  I would recommend this clinic to anybody.

Now for a few more "fun" facts about Molly.

When she was a year old, we found out that Molly was the most popular name for female dogs in 1999.  We met at least a dozen Molly's over the years.

She was small but mighty when she first came to us.  And Mike loved to do his magic tricks on her and tease her.  She loved to tease him right back but when she had enough she had no problem letting Mike know.  Whoever said that dogs can't talk never owned a dog.

A few of you asked about Molly's nicknames.  Mollygirl, cause that's what she was... our Mollygirl.  The Mollster, cause that suited her.  Pita stood for Pain in the ass, which on many occasions she was.  Houdini because she was great at disappearing into the night.  Snorty Snorterson was because she would snort if she didn't like something.  And Mutt... well she was a cup of lab, a tablespoon of shepherd, a dash of collie and a pinch of husky... add it all up and she's 100% mutt.  You should have seen some of the looks people gave me when I called her that.  But she was our mutt and we loved her.

Molly was a very kind, submissive dog; and we're proud to say that in her lifetime she never once snarled, bared teeth, nipped or bit a human or another animal.  She was just a happy well tempered dog.

Over the years, people would cross the street or a park to come and comment on her.  And although people seemed to line up to pat her, unless you had food, she wasn't much interested.  If you did have treats or food, then you had a friend for life.

Her favorite time of the year was the fall and winter.  She would walk off trail through piles of leaves and romp in the snow til she looked like a snowman. 

She brought a lot of pleasure into our lives.  And she will be greatly missed by both of us.  It's already way to quiet around here. 

Again, thank you to all for your comments,

Love and hugs, MnM

A Tribute to our Molly

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the life of our wonderful dog Molly.

The week before Christmas of 1999; we had the chance to rescue a puppy from a not very good situation. After some discussion; a little brown bundle of energy came into our lives. She wasn't quite 6 weeks old and weighed about 5 and a half pounds. Barely old enough to be weaned. Molly was the first name that came to mind; and after an hour or so of tossing around names, she became our Molly.

She answered to many names over the years; Molly girl, the Mollster, Mutt, Pita, Houdini and Snorty Snorterson; just to name a few.

The first few weeks with a new puppy was a lot of fun. She was the runt of her litter; and was used to being pushed aside at feeding time. That wasn't the case at her new home; and it was quite comical watching her eat. She was so little that she would end up standing in her bowl to get to the pieces that she had pushed with her nose. Little sips of water in between. She was so dainty. Of course, that changed over time; and she would gulp her food down pretty quick. She always came over to both of us afterwards to thank us.

The first lake that Molly swam in was Lake Erie. That would be the first of many swims. She is the only dog I know that has been in 3 of the Great Lakes - Erie, Huron and Superior. She has swam in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico. Also along the way, she swam in the Bay of Fundy and the Colorado River. And she has had her paws in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Plus many lakes, rivers and streams in between.

Mike and I were avid campers; and the first time we took Molly camping, we weren't sure how it would go. We headed up to McGregor Point on the long weekend that first May; and she took to camping like a duck to water. This is where she received Houdini as one of her nicknames. The first night; we had just gotten all tucked in and turned off the lights. Within a few seconds it sounded like a huge animal or person was walking close to our tent. Got up, turned on the lights, and Molly wasn't in the tent?!? Unbeknownst to us, she had put a hole in the side of the tent; and had gone back outside. Because of her dark fur, she also blended into the night and many times sitting around a campfire, we had to really look to see her.

In all the years that we interior camped with our canoe; she only ever tipped us once. Mike had gotten out to look for a well camoflaged portage and Molly jumped out to follow. Over the canoe went, with all of our stuff and me! But thankfully we were on a small lake, at the shoreline.

The first time in the canoe, she was snoring along with her chin resting on the gunnels, when all of a sudden, she spotted a couple of deer on the shore. She never did bark at them, but did a low, gutteral growl instead. It was pretty funny, she was a tenth of the size of the deer.

I can't begin to add up the kilometres that Molly has put on over the years. Whether it was from all the drives for the many camping trips, plus the last 4 years of full time rving; or from all the hikes that she went on. For the first 7 years of her life; most weekends we took her to a conservation area. The walk took us about an hour; and she did it 10 times to our once. From the start of the walk, she was either running full tilt after her frisbee, which she loved; or chasing squirrels or rabbits. She was great at catching the frisbee, but never did catch a squirrel. But I gotta give her an A+ for trying.

Molly came nose to nose with a Massassauga Rattler and a tarantula, but luckily nothing bad happened. And in all the years that we had her, she never got sprayed by a skunk. Came real close to that happening this past spring, but lucky for us, the skunk went a different way.

The first time that we had Molly in the desert, we hadn't gotten more than a few feet away from the truck, when she came back with half a dozen cactus "bulbs" stuck in her fur. I had holes in my fingers for weeks after I pulled them out of her.

Molly was always an avid traveler, and as long as we were there, she didn't care where we were. Over the years, Molly has been in 8 Provinces and 29 States. When we first started this lifestyle; she would get really anxious when it was time to leave. But once she was in the truck; she was a happy girl. She knew that she was coming with us; and wouldn't be forgotten.

A few years ago, Molly had a bad injury to her back legs, and that seemed to be the beginning of the end. The past year or so has been hard on her; and despite giving her shark cartiledge and glucosamine, old age and arthritis caught up. She was having a lot of problems with walking and negotiating the stairs into our place had become a challenge.

On October 25th, Mike and I were both with her when she passed on to dog heaven. She will always have a special place in our hearts and we will both miss her greatly.

Please take a look at some of our favourite pictures of her

Summer of 2010

It just seemed liked yesterday when we arrived home from Florida. And here it is middle of October, and we leave in less than 2 weeks. Where did the time go?

The summer of 2010 just flew by for us. We have lots of family and friends in this area; and it seemed to be non stop visiting, parties, dinners... etc...etc.

We had Rob and Emalynn join us from BC for a few weeks; then a couple of our nieces spent a week with us. Lots of days at the beach during that time.

My long time friend Claudia and her kids came for a overnighter. And the list just keeps on going.

Don't forget the poker tournaments that we held at our park; plus lots of cards nights with Ken/Rosie and Tina/Randy.

Then just a few nights ago; I threw a early 60th surprise birthday party for Mike. He actually doesn't turn 60 until February, but by then we'll be deep in the heart of Texas.

To get Mike out of the house for a few hours, me and Mike's sister and sisters-in-law sent Mike and his brothers Ken and Dave out for a horse back ride. They spent an hour out at the Horseshoe J Dude Ranch in Iona Station.

Mike frequented the ranch for many years, and he figured that its been close to 40 years since the first time he went there. Like I said at the beginning of this post... where does the time go?

When the boys returned to the park; there were close to 20 family and friends waiting at the rec hall to help Mike celebrate. He was very surprised. It's always great when a surprise party is just that... a surprise. But then again, his birthdays not til February.

A great time was had by all. And mother nature made for a beautiful fall night to sit with good friends around a campfire.

Take a look at our pictures taken during this time