Cornerstone Community Church, San Jose Ca

It’s been five years since we had to put our two Golden Retrievers down. There are a lot of things about them that I don’t miss. I don’t miss picking up after them. I don’t miss how they smell when they came in from the rain. I don’t miss them howling at sirens. But I would be lying if I told you I didn’t miss them. Almost every day for ten years I took Barney and Abby for a walk. I got so used to it that I still take that walk, though it’s no longer a daily thing. And there are times when I’m on that walk when I really miss having them with me. To be honest, I especially miss walking Abby, even though in the long run she caused me far more grief than Barney did. While Abby was a handful, she was also fearless. There were a number of times on our walks when we would run into stray dogs or menacing-looking strangers or even on one occasion a coyote, and Abby never gave an inch. Barney didn’t either, but that’s because – li