I am sorry that it has taken so long to write. Every time I thought of you, the words in my
mind were drowned by the tears from my eyes.
Managing life without you has been strange. For so long you were there beside me. For one decade and a half we lived together
and breathed together. So much in life
that we experienced together, I grew up with you in my life, while you grew up
and grew old. I wish you could have
stayed forever in my life, but I am grateful that you can still visit me in my
dreams.
I remember the day we met. I was not allowed to touch you. I had to wait until your mother was ready for
me to hold you and take care of you. I
promised to give you the life that you deserved and as I recall the memories of
our life together, I believe that I fulfilled that promise.
So many memories, if I was to share them all I would be
writing until age overcame my body and my fingers could write no more.
Do you remember when you were a very small pup and I took
you to my place of work and introduced you to my new friends? It was not long after I started working for
that company and although I moved on, those friends have become old friends and
one particular friend became your special friend too. She helped you when you needed help and as a
result you developed a very special bond with her.
And all the people that you have run with over the years, so
many that fell in love with you and enjoyed your company, especially the
children that you ran with over the years.
Your love of children was apparent from a very young age, you trusted
them and did not fear them and in return they gave you what you loved.
Many did not realise how shy you were, especially as a pup. One of my most precious memories of you was
how you behaved during our first Christmas together when you ran into the house
to see me, not realising at first that there was a large family gathering in
the living room……
You ran smiling to me
and then panicked, slipping on the floor as you dashed towards me. You reached the safety of my legs, cowered
down and then dared to peak round my legs at all the strange faces. You were scared and looked to me for guidance. I helped you then and on many other days when
you became uncertain of a situation. You
followed my lead, but I did not understand how closely you followed me until
many years later….
In 2007 we found ourselves “homeless”, living in temporary
accommodation. Yes we had a house to
live in and food on the table, but we no longer had a home. The future was uncertain for you, me, Kai,
Kade and Brego. Should we return to my
place of birth or could we remain and create our own life and find a new home.
I promised to find us all a home. That was my priority. I had to make a huge sacrifice along the way
and Brego moved away to a life without us, but I found us that home. The Pink Castle as it became affectionately known:
a house in a beautiful location, with a huge garden and cool rooms for Siberian
Huskies during the heat of a summer day.
The day we moved there you changed. You became relaxed, chilled and bounced
around everywhere with a huge smile on your face every day. I had not realised how stressed you had
become through me. My stress passed to
you and you struggled to deflect it. But
it went deeper than that. You were
happiest when the whole team was happy and when Ian joined our team your
happiness reached a new level. Your
beautiful words of song were frequently heard in the village when one of your
beloved team members was absent… Rest assured dear Krofti that you will be with the team when we walk down the aisle to meet Ian next year. Our Honeymoon was booked thinking of you and your special friend will be the special friend that makes sure I get to the church on time….
I
want to write about all the foster dogs that lived with us and how you helped
teach them about respect. You did not
suffer fools gladly and I am forever grateful for that. You guided us and tried to help us understand. I want to write forever, but I cannot. I will never forget you, but our family needs
me and the future needs me. The memories
of our life together are so precious and deeply ingrained in my mind, etched
forever, along with the memories of our lives with Friday, Kai, Kade, Brego, Kez,
Ian, Lara, Kobi, Kroi, Spike and Arwen.
I missed you this Christmas, dear Krofti, but every time I
did I looked deep in my heart and mind and found you. No matter what, I believe that you are out
there somewhere, finally reunited with the pack that we both loved, watching us
all from above.
Please take care of
Spike, he can be a very naughty dude sometimes and even with his Angel wings,
he may not be ready to be good all the time.
He needs guidance and if anyone can do that, you can.
Until we meet again dear Krofti, I look forward to seeing
you in my dreams.
Forever and a day I love you. xx
(images thanks to Ian J Berry, Carolyn Thompson Easter, Paul Hammon and Eastleigh parkrun)
