Dogs really are a man’s best friend.

Ginger is not an early riser. By the time he gets up, Nutmeg has generally finished her workout, done the laundry and been to the grocery store before he gets up.  To be clear, there are about two things he will get up early for downhill skiing (never cross-country) and flying. Yesterday started with an early morning call to tell Ginger that Skoki, our 14.5-year-old black lab, was ill. Ginger bolted out of bed and tried to set a land speed record driving to Canmore to see his dog.  She was not well, and although a trip to the vet seemed to lift her energy a little bit, it was not for long.

Skoki was born in Leduc, just outside Edmonton.  Ginger convinced Nutmeg to go for a drive one snowy Saturday 14 years ago.  Nutmeg was pretty sure of two things: you do not drive to Edmonton “just for fun,” and no dog lover in their right mind goes to “just look” at puppies.  The long and short, naturally, was that Skoki made the trip back south on Highway Two to Calgary.  She started in the back seat of the Jetta, which lasted for about 5 minutes.  At this point, Nutmeg succumbed to maternal pressure, and Skoki sat in the front seat on Nutmeg’s lap for the rest of the trip to her new home (and was pretty proud of herself for scoring the first point). :- )

From the very start, Skoki was what one might describe as a wee bit headstrong.  Early day walks looked like Ginger or Nutmeg dragging a small creature who was pretty determined that she did not want to walk down an icy sidewalk.  She had selective hearing from day one unless food was involved, and then she had excellent ears.  Skoki was a loyal companion for dog walks, runs and mountain hikes.  Most of all, she just loved people, although she was pretty careful with handing out her affection.

Ginger has been away at school for 10 months and returned home two weeks ago.  Skoki stood guard that whole time and made sure her mistress (Nutmeg), her dog-mate (Jade), and the house were safe and sound.  She knew her time was short and her master was now home for good, she could tell because the piles of his stuff had started to accumulate.  Skoki said goodbye to her best friends yesterday.  Early this morning, it was clear she would not regain her strength or her lovable spunk.  Nutmeg took her for a drive to see the mountain views in Canmore, and then she said goodbye for good.

We will miss our good friend, but we know she is somewhere close by,  pretending to ignore us.

Food Travel Tags:
Travel Tips with Pets, Travel with Dogs