Here is an ever-growing list of things I learned over the past 6 years from my dog.
- adjust and be flexible - you can be happy living in Washington or in Michigan
- tenacity is a virtue
- listen intently but don't be afraid to speak
- survey the room and make sure everyone is doing alright - occasionally walk around and give people special attention
- know when enough is enough and go and lay down in the shade
- obey commands, but do them with a flourish and with your own special touch
- stay informed and attuned to your surroundings
- be a good friend and family member
- enjoy new toys but don't be afraid to break them in
- don't be afraid of water
- protect young children, the elderly and people that are fragile
- be a good role-model and example
- run hard while you can
- go for long walks with the people you love, even in the winter
- greet your old, regular friends like you haven't seen them in years - make sure your eyes light up and your tail wags
- don't whine
- age with grace
- leave the world more full than when you were born into it
7 comments:
I didn't know Bwindi Sue, but I can tell from your post she wasn't just a good dog but a good friend. I'm sorry for your loss!!
Oh Bwindi-ers. My husband & I were Bwindi's first family. We purchased Bwindi from a home on the Smith Road in Lynden, Wa. Bwindi and her sister were the last pups left to be placed in homes......I remember how she ran up to my husband, John, and basically claimed him. He never looked at the other puppy. I remember how I wanted to look at both pups seperately and play with each one and really try to pick the best pup. No use. Bwindi had stolen her first male heart.
Bwindi was extremely easy to train. I took her to beginners class, advanced class and advanced 2 obedience classes. Hot Dogs motivated her to master obedience skills quickly. When she saw the package of hot dogs she ran to my VW bug and would sit by the car door knowing it was time for "school".
Bwindi came into our lives in May 1997. During 1997 Christmas Vacation my husband & I drove to California to visit some friends. We had a Ford Ranger Truck and Bwindi camped out behind our seats. Every once in awhile she would pop her under my husband's arm and rest her chin on his seat. So very sweet.
John worked for a harvesting company. He sold Grape Harvesters to farmers in Australia, Chile, Argentina, New York and Eastern Washington. During his trips to Eastern Washington he would take Bwindi with him. She LOVED this!!! The hotel provided John & Bwindi with a room that had two beds in it. So after a day of work...Bwindi had her own bed to camp out on. Each day when they would return to the hotel John would watch as Bwindi trotted down the hotel hallway to their room. She'd sit and wait for him to open the door. One of my favorite photos is of John & Bwindi on a Harvester together! Usually Bwindi liked to follow the harvester as John gave demos or checked & set up machines. But every once in awhile she also enjoyed the ride. Grape Harvesters straddle a row of grapes. The platform where the driver sits is at least 12 - 15 feet off the ground. There is no use talking to a driver from the ground while they are harvesting because it is way too loud. So it still is amazing to me that Bwindi wasn't bothered at all by the noise, the height or the movement of the harvester while she was sitting next to John. She definately trusted her famiy members and felt secure by them.
More Bwindi-memories to follow......stay tuned!
More Bwindi Memories from Washington.....
I guess I take most of the credit and blame for Bwindi moving to Michigan to live with my brother. Yes, I gave my husband's dog away...which over the past 6 years he has repeatedly made me feel slightly guilty for. But the guilt quickly passed when I thought of Steve & Bwindi together.
Bwindi is/was a great family dog. Steve & Nora did a fantastic job of including her in every aspect of their lives. When we flew Bwindi to Michigan to live with Steve & Nora it was a decision that just fit. Steve & Nora were looking for a dog....I was looking to add a new ridgeback show dog to my pack. My intention was always to keep Bwindi in the Wynstra/Faber family. So if things didn't work out in Michigan she would be flown home to Washington. Things definately worked out in Michigan.
I was able to see Bwindi a couple of times over the past 6 years. I like to think she recognized me; but am very aware that she gave a similiar style of greeting to everyone she loved. :)
My last visit with Bwindi was this past May. She was definately older and slower....but still so sweet and the constant fixture at our family gatherings. I loved her face; white with age and finally a bit more patient.
On Memorial Day we gathered as a family for a BBQ. By the end of the evening many of us confessed giving Bwindi pieces of steak. She could work a crowd!
My husband and I have said good-bye to Bwindi two times.
1) When we placed her on the plane and sent her to Steve.
2) & our final good-bye on July 21.
Both of these times we knew we would see her again. Our visits to Michigan always promised a reunion and now I believe heaven would not be nearly perfect without our Bwindi-girl!
Thank you Steve & Nora for loving & caring for this dog as she deserved!
The name, it was always the start to the attraction people had to Bwindi. They'd say , " what was that?, whats her name?" I'd explain , " She named after some jungle or something in Africa my siblings had a moment in"
Bwindi was the dog that helped me get over my fear of dogs, and also my fear that my brother would let dogs loose on me. She had a great nack for knowing who needed attention and who could use some love. She made you feel like you belonged right next to her.
Not many dogs got to travel like Bwindi did, she had multiple homes ; representing both east and west coasts. She was a shot of the NW here in Grand Rapids for us , and really helped this place turn into home.
I can remember not even 5 months ago when she was beating my own dog young Charlie at frisbee with a commanding jump and catch in the air.
thats it for now,
Jon
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Shot at 2007-07-24
Our kids got to grow up for many years thinking of Bwindi as "their dog." For three or four summers we took her along for our annual summer vacation to Fremont Lake. Steve and Nora would bring her along to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer gatherings at our house. And often, when they were out of town, Bwindi would come stay with us.
She was always kind and gentle with the kids. We have myriad pictures of kids hugging Bwindi while she just looks off serenely, standing still; in others, she's lying down with a little kid lying on her. When she was lying down and looking out, there was something regal about her. Like she knew she was good, but not in an arrogant way. Regal, I'd say.
My own favorite memories were simply endless games of fetch with Bwindi. While they sometimes happened in my yard, they most often occurred at Fremont Lake. In her younger years, she simply wouldn't stop. I'd use the ChuckIt and throw the ball far out into the lake. She would bound and bound and bound through the lengthy shallows, eventually swimming out to the ball, swim back in to where she could touch, walk her way to shore, give a big shake, and beg to do it all again. Me, I was just sitting in a lounge chair; after awhile, I'd have to chain her to a tree just to get her to stop. She loved the game and thought it could go on forever. Only last summer did she quit on her own. But that might've been because it was 95 every day.
Telling the kids of Bwindi's death was terrible. Adam took it hardest of all; he'll be sad for a long time. It's a mark of how special Bwindi was that each of the kids at 12, 9, and 4 have the deep sense of loss that most of us only experience when a dear human friend or family member dies. She was a special friend who all of us will miss, and who all of us will remember with great fondness.
For all of us here at the Boelkins home, the grief over losing dear Bwindi is still very raw. We are discovering how very attached we were to her! She is woven into the fabric of our family, by all the memories we made with her. It seems very unfamiliar, unwanted and unfair to go on with life and know that she will no longer be sharing it with us. It has been most difficult for Adam to miss her and not be able to say good bye. The only words of comfort I tried to give him were that we always told her and showed her how much we loved her when we were with her. She couldn't have doubted his love, when during her visits with us he played with her almost constantly. She was almost never without a set of arms around her neck or a kid lying down on the grass next to her.
We have been talking about our times with Bwindi, and when looking through our photo albums, I see her vacationing with us at Fremont Lake five summers in a row. She bounded after tennis balls in the lake, swam along with kids kyaking, lazed in the shade, slept on our cottage porch, took morning walks with kids, and became the adopted dog for three families for that week each summer. That's where both Ethan and Jenna learned to take her for a walk with a leash up the path through the wood.
Also in our memories are several sleep-overs at our house, when the kids needed her companionship over spring break, and when Levi was born and Bwindi needed a family while Steve and Nora were at the hospital and adjusting to life with a baby at home. She was our "hockey dog" - retreiving slap shots and playing defense by trying to get the tennis ball away from boys while they played. I loved having her stay with us so that I had a companion on my walks. And even with the kids around, she always came to me for things. I like to think that she knew I was the one in charge, but I also believe she found my voice and face familiar - a lot like Mary.
One of my favorite memories of Bwindi is how she always treated little people. When she was at our house and friends with a toddler came over, or when she greeted the newest addition to one of the families at the Fremont cottages, she always got her body as low as possible in front of them. She would literally flatten herself out and then stretch her nose forward very slowly toward their face. Knowing how much she craved contact and seeing her show such restraint and sensitivity, I would watch in amazement as she waited in that position for the little one to make a move. Sometimes she got poked in the eye by accident, sometimes run into, often hugged or tentatively touched. Never did she bark or nip or scare the toddler when she herself was startled. And she always responded to their affection with a big lick to their face. That's how I will remember Bwindi: eager for affection and most gentle with the smallest. I am saddened that Levi and Lauryn will miss out on more of her love and most grateful that Adam, Ethan, and Jenna experienced it so often over that past six years. She has, as Steve said, left our world richer than when she came into it.
I hope this isn't too sad of a way to end, but I keep thinking of a comment Adam made several days ago. He told me that if Steve gets another dog, he doesn't want him to be too disappointed when the dog isn't nearly as great as Bwindi. That's a big compliment from a twelve year old boy, but I think it's a compliment we all would pay to Bwindi. I think it's also why our hearts ache so much to lose her. We know there is know replacing her.
We love you, Bwindi Sue!
steve and nora
i am so sorry to hear that you lost bwindi, knowing how much i love arlo makes me know how hard it would be to lose a wonderful companion. give me a call one of these days. reub
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