Not all of you have had the opportunity to have met Darrell. But all of you will have a chance to know him just a little bit through this blog.
Darrell was a wonderful Yellow Lab who lived with Pat and Ed. Hope and I have spent some wonderful time with him. He has traveled with Gibson in the back of the Land Rover. We have gone hiking, spent time playing at the Lewis' cabin and simply watched his antics as he played with a young puppy named Gibson. In fact, Darrell was the one who taught Gibson the lab crawl.
The lab crawl? When Darrell was in a down stay, he would often, while he thought no one was watching, inch closer to whatever was of interest. The family, the dining room table, the kitchen or the food which was recently dropped on the floor. To his credit, this was incredibly endearing. And Gibson picked up on it. Knowing our monster, he will continue to practice his lab crawl for years to come.
Darrell and Gibson made for fast friends. Their romps around the house and in the backyard terrorizing the cat and racing about kept us on the edge of our seats as we sat and watched. Darrell's antics with Gibson usually culminated in him trying to mount Gibson. They had a very unique relationship and both were far more patient with each other than the rest of us ever expected them to be.
Pat and Ed raised Darrell from a puppy for a specific purpose. When he was old enough, he was sent off to become a seeing eye dog. He did amazingly well. Pat and Ed both thought they would never get a chance to see him again. But on the last day of instruction...his final test...he failed out. He was too focused and too compassionate to become a full fledged guide dog. And much to Pat and Ed's surprise, he showed up back at their doorstep, ready for a life of leisure with them.
Not that he got it. As Pat is an instructor for vision and mobility impaired students, Darrell often served as a guide dog for her students. And he performed his job impeccably whenever he was called upon to serve in his guide harness. To the best of my knowledge, he even passed muster and boarded an airline with his passenger in tow.
Darrell, truly, was a phenomenal dog. It is with many fond memories and a great deal of tears in my eyes that I try to recount just a small part of his life with the Lewis' today.
Darrell, your kind eyes, your youthful energy and your wise, wise looks will live on with us forever. And to Pat and Ed, Emi, Hope, Gibson and I mourn with you. We will all miss him.
Darrell was a wonderful Yellow Lab who lived with Pat and Ed. Hope and I have spent some wonderful time with him. He has traveled with Gibson in the back of the Land Rover. We have gone hiking, spent time playing at the Lewis' cabin and simply watched his antics as he played with a young puppy named Gibson. In fact, Darrell was the one who taught Gibson the lab crawl.
The lab crawl? When Darrell was in a down stay, he would often, while he thought no one was watching, inch closer to whatever was of interest. The family, the dining room table, the kitchen or the food which was recently dropped on the floor. To his credit, this was incredibly endearing. And Gibson picked up on it. Knowing our monster, he will continue to practice his lab crawl for years to come.
Darrell and Gibson made for fast friends. Their romps around the house and in the backyard terrorizing the cat and racing about kept us on the edge of our seats as we sat and watched. Darrell's antics with Gibson usually culminated in him trying to mount Gibson. They had a very unique relationship and both were far more patient with each other than the rest of us ever expected them to be.
Pat and Ed raised Darrell from a puppy for a specific purpose. When he was old enough, he was sent off to become a seeing eye dog. He did amazingly well. Pat and Ed both thought they would never get a chance to see him again. But on the last day of instruction...his final test...he failed out. He was too focused and too compassionate to become a full fledged guide dog. And much to Pat and Ed's surprise, he showed up back at their doorstep, ready for a life of leisure with them.
Not that he got it. As Pat is an instructor for vision and mobility impaired students, Darrell often served as a guide dog for her students. And he performed his job impeccably whenever he was called upon to serve in his guide harness. To the best of my knowledge, he even passed muster and boarded an airline with his passenger in tow.
Darrell, truly, was a phenomenal dog. It is with many fond memories and a great deal of tears in my eyes that I try to recount just a small part of his life with the Lewis' today.
Darrell, your kind eyes, your youthful energy and your wise, wise looks will live on with us forever. And to Pat and Ed, Emi, Hope, Gibson and I mourn with you. We will all miss him.
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| From A puppy named Gibson |
1 comment:
Dear Seth,Hope,Emi, & Gibson, Thank you for the wonderful remembrance of Ddog - he was truly the best and his passing leaves a huge hole in our lives. Glad to know he passed on the lab crawl to Gibson - it does work! The e-mails, cards, and phone calls have been amazing. Some of Pat's prior students that we have not communicated with for some time even sent their love and support. Pat figures there are at least 5 of her prior students that have guide dogs now at least in part due to Darrell being able to give them a 'test drive'. It is SO much different than cane travel where you are in constant contact with the environment - with a guide dog you removed from that direct contact. Try it sometime under blindfold! Again, we so appreciate your support and concern - and especially taking part in creating the great memories. That is why we are here and Ddog tried his best to teach us to live and enjoy the present with gusto. Love ya - Ed and Pat
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